Til The World Ends
by Believe in Fairy Tales
Summary: Shannon is in trouble. Not only is she being hunted by two seperate teams of ninja from opposite sides of the law, but it's also the beginning of the Apocalypse. The poor girl is having a hard enough time just staying alive! Rating may change later on
1. Chapter 1

****Chapter one****

It was like any other day Shannon spent at the mall – she was helping in her mother's shop and, like usual, was sent down at lunch to fetch something for herself and her mother from the food court.

There was a gaming convention in the centre court of the mall, so naturally it was packed. Shannon dodged and weaved through the crowd with practiced ease, twisting and turning with the flow of people and thoroughly enjoying herself.

Shannon paused in the shelter of a doorway to one of the staff lounges to catch her breath. Weaving through crowds like that was always tiring, and she needed a moment to get her bearings in the throng of people. She whipped her shoulder-length brown hair into a messy ponytail and prepared to dive back into the milling crowds.

She was stopped short by a gentle tap on the shoulder. Turning around, Shannon was greeted by the grinning face of her best friend, Ashley.

"Hey! Didn't expect to see you here during a game convention of all things," Shannon laughed, embracing her friend.

Ashley wrinkled her nose and grinned. "I may not like games, but it's always fun scoping out the competition for my brother." She paused for a moment, her grin widening. "Especially when he's paying a hundred bucks an hour."

Ashley certainly wasn't the gaming type, and her appearance gave that much away – her long red hair was loose, fanning over her shoulders, big silver hoops dangled from her ears, and as per usual, her make-up was flawless.

Shannon herself didn't particularly like make-up, and thus never wore much of it at any given time – the most she ever felt comfortable with wearing was mascara and eye liner.

"You'd make a bit of a conspicuous spy, Ash," Shannon said with a wink, folding her arms and scrutinizing her friend's clothing, taking in her black heels, electric blue skinny jeans and white dress shirt.

"You, on the other hand, would fit right in," Ashley retorted, pulling a tongue at her friend.

Shannon – skater extraordinaire, soccer player, computer geek and avid manga, anime, science fiction and gaming fan - looked down at her attire of powder blue high-tops, black skinny jeans with chains looped through the belt holes and a sleeveless white band shirt. She shrugged. "They call me a tomboy for a reason, smartass."

"Even so," Ashley smirked, draping an arm over Shannon's shoulders, "you attract more than enough attention from the opposite sex."

Shannon scoffed and rolled her eyes at the red-head. "Only you would say something like that, you closet pervert."

"Hey! I'm just telling it like it is!" Ashley held her hands up in a gesture of defence. "But enough about that, why don't you come with me to the food court and grab something to eat? I haven't seen you in weeks!"

"Sure, I was just on my way there anyway," Shannon agreed with a laugh, pulling Ashley with her in to the dense crowd.

It was a little while later, when Shannon and Ashley were heading back through the crowds towards her mother's shop, that The Event happened. The Event that would set everything in motion.

Shannon was weaving through the crowds like she normally did, brushing past people without even so much as a second glance, when she smacked into something solid. And warm. And as she looked up to apologize to whoever she had walked into, something that in all reality should _not_ have been there.

Shannon's apology died on her tongue when she caught sight of the silver hair slicked back from a pale face high above her own. And she died a little inside when she saw the glint in those cruel magenta eyes.

"Uh…" she stuttered, not really believing what she was seeing. "Sorry about that…"

Shannon was still rooted in place, seemingly held there by the power of those pink eyes alone and the fear that coursed through her veins at the sight of them, so it was quite inevitable that Ashley walked straight into her.

"Shannon!" she whined, "Move, will ya!"

"Shannon, huh?" the pink-eyed man sneered, looking down at the two girls.

Shannon swallowed nervously. Her thoughts were in turmoil. What the hell was _Hidan_ – a _fictional character_ – doing here?

"I think," he continued, smirking, "you might just be the person I'm looking for."

Shannon really didn't like the look in Hidan's eyes. It was nothing to do with the fact that he was technically supposed to only be a drawing on a piece of paper and everything to do with the fact that the look in his eyes boded no good will for either of the teenage girls in front of him.

She laughed nervously and latched onto Ashley's wrist. "I think you might have the wrong Shannon, sorry," she smiled apologetically and tugged Ashley behind her as she disappeared into the crowd before Hidan could even reply.

"No, I think you're specifically the one I want," he chuckled darkly and pursued the girl through the mass of people. 

"Shannon! Slow down, what's the rush?" Ashley whined, trying in vain to free her wrist from her friend's vice-like grip.

But Shannon wasn't listening - the only thing she was concerned with was getting as far away from the Akatsuki member as possible. She glanced over her shoulder and instantly regretted it. He was coming after them, still grinning with that malicious intent in his eyes. She doubled her speed and focused on moving with more agility through the crowds. Hidan seemed to be at a disadvantage due to his larger build and had resorted to trying to roughly shove people out of his way.

"Shannon! Are you even listening to me?" Ashley managed to pry her hand away from Shannon and pulled her to a stop behind a potted plant. "What's the matter?"

Shannon peered around the leafy appendages of the large plant. They seemed to have lost Hidan, for the moment. She took a deep breath and looked at Ashley, frowning. She had no clue how to explain this.

"You know that Japanese stuff I'm always watching and reading?" she began, wringing her hands nervously and peering out from behind the plant every couple of seconds to make sure they hadn't been spotted.

"Yeah?" Ashley responded slowly, not really sure where this conversation was headed.

"Well…I don't really know how to say this…but I think one of the bad guys from Naruto is following me," she whispered conspiratorially, her frown deepening.

"Following you?" Ashley raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure it's not just one of those cosplay freaks we see around here sometimes?"

"Positive," Shannon groaned, running a hand over her face. "He's the real deal, and he does not look friendly."

Now it was Ashley's turn to peer out from behind the plant. "How is that even possible?"

"I have no clue, but it isn't good," Shannon motioned for Ashley to follow her back into the crowd.

"How do you know he's after you?" the red head asked her friend as they wove though the dense throng of people, making their way at a doubled speed back to Shannon's mom's store.

"I'll explain to you at mom's shop, I don't want to stay out in the open with that creep around here," Shannon shuddered, thinking back to the show Hidan originated from. "And if one of them is here, there's bound to be more lurking around somewhere."

Shannon could have sworn she heard Ashley audibly gulp.

**Epic Author's note**

**I've always believed that one of the signs of a good author is a solid, engaging author's note. This is my first attempt at such a thing, so if it sucks, you all have my sincerest apologies and I vow to do better in the next one. Alright, here we go...**

**This is my first fanfic, and this idea sort of just seized hold of my brain and refused to let go of the poor battered organ until it was written out. This is an AU fic, seeing as it takes place on good 'ol planet Earth during the Apocalypse, of all things. I'm a cruel, twisted soul. I know. If anyone is interested in being a beta reader for this story, please let me know :) And I'm eager and willing to improve on any faults anyone may find, so reviews are major love :D**

**Right, now that's out of the way...the Majorly Intimidating Disclaimer must follow.**

**I own nothing, save for Shannon (bless her heart), Ashley, and any other OC's that may feature in this here story. This Majorly Intimidating Disclaimer holds true throughout the entire story.**

**Naruto and all characters associated with it belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

**Boring details aside, READ AND ENJOY**

**...and don't forget to review**


	2. Chapter 2

**Another epic author's note**

**And here we have chapter 2! It's definitely longer than the last chapter, I'll give it that much. **

**I'd like to clear two things up - first of all, I do infact _like_ Hidan, even though in this fic it would appear that he's the main punching bag for some of my mental tension...sorry to any and all Hidan fans out there. And second of all, this is my first attempt at a fan fiction, so if there are any inconsistencies or the characters appear OOC, please let me know and I'll try my best to fix my errors :)**

**And then what would this author's note be without a special mention to my reviewer :) (the only one at the moment, hopefully the number of reviewers will INCREASE sometime in the near future *cough* hint hint *cough*).**

**Special mention to Reviewer of the Week**

**Thanks for reading this Clauds! You, my friend, are freaking awesome that way :D and I'll try my best to update at least once a day, just because you love this story so much ;)**

**And this is the end to yet another author's note. If you desire to have a special mention Just About YOU (whoever you are), then you know what you need to do!**

**...incase you didn't catch the hint, REVIEW**

****Chapter two****

Shannon sat on the floor behind the counter in her mother's shop, her knees pulled up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them. Ashley sat next to her in a similar position.

Shannon's mother, Josephine, was busy in the storeroom at the back of the shop. Otherwise, the small store was empty. It was a comic book store, which was why Shannon spent so much time helping out in it. Cheap plastic action figures lined the walls, along with faded posters and old records. There was an old arcade machine in the back corner, almost hidden from view by stacks of comic books and games.

The sales counter behind which Shannon and Ashley crouched was in the middle of the store, surrounded by long racks of comic books and graphic novels.

After a few moment's tense silence, Ashley spoke. "We're here. Explain."

Shannon sighed through her nose and rested her chin atop her knees, staring fixedly at a spot on the linoleum floor. "I don't know exactly _why_ they're after me, I just know they _are_."

Ashley snorted. "Well, that doesn't explain much."

"I'm at just as much of a loss as you are, Ash," Shannon looked at her best friend and frowned.

"I know…" Ashley trailed off, rubbing the pack of her neck apologetically. Her tone softened. "Sorry, Shan. But how do you know he's after you specifically?"

Shannon thought back to when she had practically run straight into Hidan. She shivered at the memory of those eyes literally burning through her. "He said I was the person he was looking for. For what purpose, I don't know, but by the look in his eyes, I don't think I want to."

"This is not good." Ashley shook her head, frowning.

Just then, Josephine walked back into the main store and resumed her position in the chair behind the cash register.

"You girls look like you've just seen a ghost!" she joked, sweeping her red-brown bangs behind her ears. "Who did you see?"

Ashley and Shannon just looked at each other, not entirely sure how to explain the situation to the older woman.

"Umm…" Shannon started, when an idea suddenly struck her.

She cautiously rose to her haunches, crouching down behind the counter and peering over the top to make sure Hidan wasn't outside. She squeaked and hit the floor when she saw that he was, indeed, stationed outside the shop, leaning casually against a pillar opposite the storefront.

"What's the matter, Shannon?" her mother asked, looking down at her daughter with concern.

"Don't look down here!" she hissed, shooing her mother away. "He'll know we're here!"

"Who will know?" Josephine shot back, casually gathering up a few magazines from the floor and plopping them down on the counter to make it look like she had merely bent down to retrieve them.

"Nice save, Mama J!" Ashley whispered, flashing her a thumbs up.

Josephine smirked and winked at her, opening up a magazine and pretending to read it. "Shannon, you had better start explaining – my patience is wearing thin."

Remembering her previous plan, Shannon poked her mother in the leg and said in a hushed whisper, "Could you pass me that copy of Naruto on the rack next to you?"

"And if I do this you'll explain why you're acting like weirdo?"

"Yes, mother!"

Sighing, Josephine picked up the indicated book and made to drop it accidentally behind the counter. Bending down again as if to pick it up, she looked her daughter in the eye and demanded, "Explain, Shannon Harper."

Shannon rolled her eyes at the use of her full name and flipped the manga open. If she remembered correctly, there should be a picture of him right about…

She grinned in triumph when she found the picture and showed it to her mother. "That dude," she pointed to the black and white drawing of Hidan, "is standing outside the store, looking for me and Ashley." Behind her, Ashley nodded fervently in agreement.

"A character from a cartoon is after you?" Josephine raised an eyebrow, her expression not exactly convinced. "Are you on crack or something? You can tell me if you are."

"Mom!" Shannon whined, looking pitifully up at her mother. "If Ashley believes me, why can't you? Have I ever lied to you before?"

At her mother's dubious expression, Shannon raised her hand and added, "Don't answer that. But you know what I mean! He's after us!"

Josephine straightened up and dropped the book back on the counter, picking up her magazine again. "Well, what do you want me to do, Shannon? Call the cartoon cops?"

"That's not funny!" her daughter hissed, green eyes glinting angrily. "Just look outside and see for yourself!"

Sighing, Josephine glanced up from the magazine and scanned the wide, bustling passageway outside her shop. When she spotted Hidan, a small frown creased her forehead.

"Are you sure he's not just some lookalike and you're being paranoid?"

"Positive, mom," Shannon sighed. "I bumped into him earlier and he said he had been looking for me."

Her mother's frown deepened. "I don't know what you want me to do. I can't just waltz out there and say, 'leave me daughter alone, you're not even meant to be in this dimension anyway', now can I?"

"Can't you call the mall security or something?" Ashley suggested brightly. "Tell them he's intimidating customers and harassing staff. That won't exactly be lying, I mean look at him – he's such a little bundle of sunshine as it is."

Shannon snorted and folded her arms. "I wish he'd be a little bundle of sunshine somewhere else, preferably back where he came from."

"He's probably waiting for us to appear so he can nab us and take us off to some dodgy science lab to experiment on us and stuff," Ashley whispered conspiratorially.

Both Shannon and her mother rolled their eyes at Ashley's antics. Josephine picked up the cordless phone next to the cash register and dialed the number for the head security office.

A few moments later, three security guards in black and yellow uniforms appeared outside the store. They looked at Hidan, and then at Josephine for confirmation. She nodded, and they moved in for the kill. Shannon couldn't hear anything, but from her position behind her mother, she could see all three of the security guards escort a very reluctant and livid Hidan from the scene. She smirked at the expression on his face.

Ashley leaned on Shannon's shoulder and laughed.

"Feisty Teen Tag-team: 1, Creepy Old Guy Stalker: 0." 

Out in the middle of nowhere, somewhere a few miles from the city limits, something strange happened (another Event, if you will).

A fierce wind suddenly sprang up in an empty field of wild grass, and a flash of lightning cracked – all this despite the distinct lack of clouds. The wind swirled in a large vortex, kicking up immense clouds of dust and leaves and dried stalks of long grass. The cloud of debris was so thick that anyone who would have happened to see it at that moment wouldn't have seen the eight figures thrown rather unceremoniously out of the swirling windstorm.

Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the storm was gone. There was a coughing fit somewhere in the tall grass and a blonde boy staggered to his feet, gasping for air.

"They really need to work on improving that transportation jutsu!" he complained loudly, vigorously running his hands through his spiky hair, expelling a small cloud of dust and sand.

As he broke into yet another coughing fit, another figure rose up from the grass, with considerably more dignity than the first. "Naruto! Will you keep it down! We don't know if anyone might have seen us land, and the Akatsuki could be anywhere!"

"It's no use talking to him about keeping quiet, Sakura," a black-haired boy said from behind the pink-haired girl who had spoken. "This is Naruto we're talking about, after all."

The boy proceeded to walk up to Naruto – who was still trying to suck in some air devoid of sand – and smacked him rather harshly on the back of the head.

"Hey!" the blonde complained, rubbing the back of his head and glaring at the black-haired boy's back as he pushed through the grass towards a road in the distance. "What the hell was that for, Sasuke?"

But Sasuke wasn't listening. He just kept walking off towards the road, not even waiting for his companions to follow.

Sakura sighed and followed her team mate. "Come on guys, we'd better catch up before he leaves without us."

Grumbling as he set off with the others, it took Naruto a moment to realize that his coughing fit had stopped.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note of Epic Proportions**

**Finally, things get interesting in this chapter :D these poor souls...what I only put them through...anywho.**

**Like I mentioned in the last chapter - He Who Reviews, Gets Special Mention**

**Thankyouthankyouthankyou to EdelHZ :D you kicked my writer's block straight out the window with that review! I won't let you down! This will be the best post-apocalyptic fic ever written, if it's the last thing I do! B)**

**And to all you other people reading this, you know you want to review! If you don't, I swear I will send Zabuza to eat you! Don't. Test. Me.**

**Enjoy!**

****Chapter three****

It had been three months since the Konoha team had been sent to retrieve that girl, and still, no sign of her. Even Naruto was starting to complain. And when he started…there was no stopping him.

"Will you shut up already?" Sasuke growled, clipping his blonde partner over the back of the head after listening to his incessant complaining for the best part of two hours.

"But I'm tired!" Naruto whined, shoulders slumping under his thick blue sweatshirt. "And hungry! We've been walking for _days_!"

"And we're going to keep walking until we find the girl!" Sakura snapped, walking behind the pair. She adjusted the strap on her bright red sun dress and pushed her sunglasses further up her nose. "Now quit your complaining and _move_!"

Behind Team 7, the rest of the squad sighed. It had been a long three months listening to them bicker and squabble over the most trivial things. They wondered how Kakashi had ever managed with them at all.

The rest of the squad members sent along with Team 7 on the retrieval mission were Hinata Hyuga, Rock Lee, Sai, Shikamaru Nara and an unidentified Jounin from Grass who had been enlisted for helping the team transport themselves back to Konoha after finding and securing their target.

Shikamaru sighed noisily and clasped his hands behind his head as he walked. "Do those three ever stop fighting?"

"I'm afraid not," Sai responded. A slight breeze tousled his short black hair and highlighted the absence of his Konoha forehead protector.

They had all been instructed to remove their headbands and dress in the typical civilian clothes of the area they would be infiltrating, to minimize suspicion and avoid detection by any Akatsuki members they should happen across.

Shikamaru tugged at the neckline of the black T-shirt he wore. These damn civilian clothes were so…heavy.

"Troublesome," he muttered under his breath. Whether he was talking about Team 7 or the disguise he wore, no one could be sure.

Sai – without his oddly made clothes that made him so identifiable back in Konoha – looked quite comfortable in his black jeans and white long-sleeve shirt. Shikamaru didn't know how he did it. He hated the clothes he wore. They restricted his movement and were hot in the sun. Especially the black leather jacket he had on.

Hinata and the Grass Jounin were walking at the back of the group. Neither of them said much, and hadn't been all that talkative the whole three months they had been on his mission.

Hinata's blue-black hair was pulled into a high ponytail, and she wore a pair of dark sunglasses to hide her pupil-less violet eyes from normal civilians. She was dressed in a pair of faded blue jeans and a black halter-neck shirt. Her sandals slapped rhythmically on the tar road the group walked along.

The Grass Jounin beside her wore a grey hoodie and dark blue sweatpants. He had his hood up, shadowing his face from the others.

The group of eight were making their way to the last known location of the girl they were meant to be tracking – a mall, funny enough. The road they now walked down was in the middle of a residential area – well-manicured lawns and clean houses flanked the squad, and large metal contraptions on wheels glared at them from small caverns built into the sides of the houses.

They had been given no details about the target other than her physical appearance and her name. They didn't know why they had been sent to escort her back to Konoha or what the Hokage wanted with her. They had been sent on a mission, and all they were concerned with was seeing it through. 

The dimly-lit restaurant was a hive of activity that night at the mall. Champagne bottles popped and people cheered. The entire restaurant had been booked for a single occasion, and nearly a hundred people were in attendance.

Shannon and Ashley were on the dancefloor of the restaurant, laughing and singing along with the other guests. It was a party to celebrate many things – Ashley's birthday a week prior, Shannon had just received her learner's driver's license, and Ashley's older sister Mischa had just gotten engaged.

The evening had been going great – people were having a wonderful time, the atmosphere was electric, and it seemed like nothing could go wrong. But, as the saying goes, nothing lasts forever. And the date of the party? The night of the 21st of December 2012. The night of the Armageddon.

It was around 10:30 pm when Shannon noticed something wasn't right. She had gone outside for a breath of fresh air and to cool off from dancing non-stop for two hours. The first thing she noticed was the considerable drop in temperature. It was the middle of summer, but frost was starting to settle on the grass outside. Shannon shivered in her sleeveless party dress and leggings, rubbing her arms in an attempt to generate some body heat.

Seeking warmth, Shannon made her way back inside the restaurant. She found Ashley slumped at one of the empty tables, grinning like a madman.

Her best friend turned her wide grin in Shannon's direction as she took the empty seat next to the redhead.

"Having fun?" Shannon asked with a wink.

"Oh, you have no idea!" Ashley laughed, throwing her head back and staring at the flashing multi-coloured lights on the ceiling.

Shannon laughed along with her for a moment, then sighed contentedly. "To think," she began, "that it's already been three months since we saw that crazy cartoon stalker."

Ashley's laugh sprang up again, louder this time. "We gave him the slip, alright! They couldn't find us again after that, whoever they are."

"Thank goodness for that much!" Shannon grinned widely, slapping her hand down on Ashley's in a lop-sided hi-five.

They sat there for a moment or two in companionable silence, the heavy base beat of the music reverberating in their ears. Ashley suddenly sat up, frowning.

"You feel that?" she asked, turning to look directly at her companion.

"Feel what?" Shannon asked, frowning as well.

"I thought I felt a tremor or something…" Ashley trailed off, looking down at the ground.

At first Shannon didn't feel anything. But then, she slowly became aware of an increasing vibrating sensation coming from the wooden floor beneath her.

The girls looked at each other, worried expressions on their faces. The area they lived in had never experienced earth tremors before. The vibration in the ground continued to increase, until the glasses on the tables and the cutlery on the plates were jingling and clinking together.

The tremor showed no signs of stopping – plates crashed to the floor, and people screamed and bolted from the dancefloor when one of the lights came crashing down, littering the ground with shards of glass.

A wooden beam from the ceiling cracked and caved inwards, bringing down a good chunk of the ceiling and roof with it. People screamed and ran outside to escape being crushed by the collapsing building. Shannon and Ashley stumbled into the parking lot seconds before the entire roof of the restaurant came crashing down.

The two girls could only stare in horror as the earthquake continued to intensify and tear down the building before them.

Trying to swallow down her fear and fight down the panic trying to claw its way up to the surface, Shannon roughly took hold of Ashley's shoulders and shook her, snapping her out of the trance she seemed to have fallen into.

"Ash! Go find your parents, find Mischa!" she shouted over the noise of people's screams and snapping concrete.

She waited for Ashley to nod before Shannon turned to leave. She was halted when Ashley desperately grabbed her wrist. "What about you? Where are you going?"

Taking her best friend's hand and gently prying it off her wrist, Shannon smiled reassuringly at Ashley before replying, "I need to find my mother. Don't worry, Ash, I will find you."

And with that, she kicked off the heels she was struggling to stand in and dashed off, leaving a panic-stricken Ashley to run the other direction in search of her family. 

Shannon dashed around the outer perimeter of the shopping centre, desperately calling out her mother's name. Josephine hadn't been at the party because she had been working late at the store again. Stumbling when a particularly violent tremor shook the earth, Shannon fell to her knees. She cried out in pain when the rough asphalt tore through her skin, and concrete dust rained down on her from the collapsing building above, powdering her whole body in a coat of grey.

Gritting her teeth and pushing herself to her feet, Shannon dashed inside the collapsing building. She had to find her mother, at any cost.

The shop was on the second level of the mall, so Shannon was constantly dodging around and jumping over gaps that had fallen out of the floor. She screamed when another long metal beam came tumbling down from the ceiling, puncturing straight through the floor. She didn't break stride though, and merely swerved around the chunk of metal.

"Mom! Mom, where are you? Mom!" Shannon's voice was hoarse from screaming and calling out her mother's name over and over again.

The teenager skidded to a halt to avoid plunging into yet another gap torn into the floor. Then entire building shook again, and Shannon's stomach dropped sickeningly as the floor began to sink. She froze, panicking, knowing there wouldn't be enough time to move.

Another scream was torn from her burning throat when the floor caved in beneath her feet.

But before she could plummet through the gaping chasm, a force hit her from the side and propelled her to solid ground. Shannon hit the ground heavily, the wind knocked from her chest. She looked around wildly for any sign of the thing that had hit her. She cried out when a pair of strong arms hauled her to her feet. She whipped around to see a boy, not much older than herself, with brown hair pulled into a spiked ponytail and dark brown eyes looking down at her.

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her after him through the crumbling building, towards a jagged hole missing from the wall a few meters away from them.

"My mother! I can't leave her!" Shannon protested, trying to tug her wrist out of the stranger's grasp.

"We need to get out of here!" the boy growled over his shoulder, pulling her more forcefully behind him. "I'm sure she made it out when the tremors started!"

Trying to choke back tears of fear and panic, Shannon let the boy drag her with him as they bolted over the swaying and buckling floor. With one last frantic tug, the strange boy managed to throw both himself and Shannon through the hole in the wall seconds before the entire building came crashing down on itself, dust billowing out from underneath the immense weight of steel and concrete smashing to the ground.

Shannon, dimly aware the stranger was still gripping her wrist tightly, coughed weakly and tried to push herself to her feet, but could only manage to get her upper body off the ground before her arms gave out and she flopped back down again.

Next to her, the boy groaned and shook his head. A pair of boots suddenly blocked Shannon's vision, and the last thing she head before she blacked out was a voice high above her saying, "Shikamaru, I don't think I've ever seen you move that fast before."

**Ooooh...cliffy...**

**Till next time, kiddies! :D**

***EDIT**

**I was just reading through this again, and was a little embarrassed to find spelling errors :/ I can't improve this story if you guys don't tell me what's wrong. Please review! If not for my sake, then for yours - I want people to enjoy reading this :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Epic Author's note**

**The Apocalypse has arrived! Run for your lives!**

**Technically, you can't outrun an Apocalypse, but whatever. You know what I mean.**

**I was looking at my story stats earlier and was extremely pleased to see that in just two days, this ficlet over here has managed to score 41 hits! :D I was like the damn Energizer Bunny when I read that. Seriously. I think I have too much sugar in my diet.**

**I have come up with a new strategy to get reviews!**

**Please Review!**

**Пожалуйста, ознакомьтесь!**

**S'il vous plaît examen!**

**Gelieve review!**

**Por favor revise!**

**Si prega Recensione!**

**I apologize if any of these phrases are misspelled or grammatically incorrect, I'm not exactly sure of the accuracy of Google Translate :/**

**But you guys get the point, I'm sure.**

**Enjoy!**

****Chapter four****

When Shannon eventually came to, she was being carried rather unceremoniously over someone's shoulder. It was the constant running and jumping of said person that roused her from unconsciousness. Her eyes cracked open slowly, but she immediately shut them again when the bright glare of sunlight hit her full in the face. Groaning, she shook her head to get rid of the grogginess clogging up her brain.

Whoever was carrying her was certainly running very fast, because she was being bounced around to the extent that her stomach felt bruised. Opening her eyes again, trying to get her bearings as to where exactly she was, Shannon immediately wished she hadn't.

There was an earth-shaking roar in front of her and Shannon's eyes snapped wide open in fright. She was being carried over rubble and ruptured tar roads littered with the smoking, smashed skeletons of car that had swerved into each other or had been crushed by falling debris. It wasn't her immediate surroundings that worried Shannon. It was the monstrous creature charging full-tilt after her.

It was easily twice the size of the cars it was crushing underfoot as it ran, made of swirling black shadow. It roared again, baring the set of enormous, knife-sharp teeth that lined its maw in multiple rows. It had three sets of eyes. Enormous, murderous, blood-red eyes. And the creature seemed to be rapidly gaining on her.

Shannon screamed and started struggling, desperate to be on her own two feet and away from the shadow creature. The arms holding the back of her knees tightened and the person carrying her jumped over yet another wrecked car.

"Will you keep still? I can't run with you squirming like that!" Shannon whipped her head around in the direction of the voice.

All she could see of her carrier's face was a mass of spiked blonde hair. "Let me down!" she screeched, still struggling.

"If I let you down, you won't be able to keep up!" the blonde snapped. "Do you _want_ that thing to eat you alive?"

Breathing heavily, Shannon ceased her struggles and spun her head back around to stare wide-eyed at the creature bounding after them. It howled in frustration when the blonde sped up and darted behind the remains of a high-rise building.

Shannon squeaked when they dropped down a large hole that led into a lower-level parking basement. The blonde swung Shannon off his shoulder and clamped a hand over her mouth to keep her quiet.

With one last roar, the shadow creature leaped over their hiding place and continued running, still chasing imaginary prey.

Shannon was shaking with fear, her breath coming in short, ragged gasps. She looked at the boy crouched next to her – his blonde hair was dulled with dust and he had black whisker-like marks down both of his cheeks.

"N-Naruto?" she whispered shakily, removing his hand from her mouth. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Naruto whipped around to look at her. "How do you know my name?"

Shannon shrugged and looked down at the ground, blinking back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. She was scared, she didn't know where her friends and family were, or even if any of them were still alive. Everything was in ruins, and she had no clue what to do. And to top it all off, now all these supposedly _fictional _characters were popping out of the woodwork and flipping her ideas of reality on its head.

"I know a lot of things I'm not supposed to," she muttered, wrapping her arms around her shivering form and drawing her knees up to her chest. "What was that…_thing_?"

Naruto let out a long breath and ran a hand through his hair. "Like hell if I know. It sure wasn't friendly."

"W-what happened here?" Shannon asked, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice.

The blonde next to her frowned slightly, fidgeting in the dark. "Well, after Shikamaru got you out of that building, you sorta fell unconscious. Those earth tremors stopped afterwards, but then there were these comets…" he rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I'm gonna sound really crazy when I tell you this stuff."

Shannon gave a small smile. "I've probably heard worse, trust me."

Naruto smiled back, relaxing slightly. "These comets – sort of like big fireballs – started falling from the sky. We found cover and waited for them to stop, but then the earthquake started up again."

The blonde paused, shivering. "This is probably the worst part. This earthquake was stronger than the last one. Much stronger. It cracked up the ground and tore buildings in half! Then…then these _things_ stated pouring out of the ground, huge monsters unlike anything I've ever seen."

Shannon's blood froze. Her thoughts immediately turned to her mother and Ashley. They may have survived the earthquake…hell, even the fireballs, but those creatures…

Taking a deep breath as if to calm himself, Naruto pressed on. "They attacked everything they saw, but stayed away from fire. That's how we made it out – we barricaded our hiding place with burning wood and those creatures stayed far away. I don't think I'll be forgetting any of this anytime soon."

He covered his eyes with his hand, shaking his head. "We're meant to be meeting up with the rest of the team here, but I don't know where they are."

"Team? What team?" Shannon frowned at him. _More_ of them? Was the whole of the Naruto world here?

"The Hokage sent a team of us to find and secure you before the Akatsuki could," he explained.

Shannon was suddenly assailed by the memory of Hidan stalking her in the shopping mall. "Oh god…" she breathed, her head sinking until it rested on her knees. This was _not_ good. She had been right all along. The Akatsuki were after her.

"Don't worry," Naruto laid a hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture. "I don't think even the Akatsuki could survive all of _this_," he indicated to the ruined buildings above them.

Shannon could see smoke pouring out of collapsed buildings and heard a small explosion somewhere off in the distance. There was a piercing, inhuman shriek and she cowered against the wall. Her shaking intensified.

"W-what do they w-want with me?" she stuttered, her eyes riveted to a single spot on the rubble-strewn floor. She didn't know where else to look.

Naruto sighed. "We don't know. All we know is that the Hokage thinks you're important enough to be protected, and that's what we've been assigned to do."

"Keep me safe?" Shannon quirked an eyebrow. "How can you do that with all those monsters lurking around out there?"

"By taking you back to Konoha with us." A new voice said from the darkness.

Shannon jumped, heart pounding, and Naruto climbed to his feet. "About time you got here, teme."

There was a _tch_ in reply, and footsteps coming closer towards where Shannon crouched and Naruto stood. Shannon could only think of one person Naruto would call teme. Her suspicions were confirmed when Sasuke Uchiha emerged from the shadows, arms folded and a scowl on his face. His black eyes glinted in the dim light.

"At least we got here," another, feminine voice said.

Shannon pushed herself to her feet and leaned heavily against the wall. Sakura Haruno looked at her from over Sasuke's shoulder. "I see you kept her in one piece," she commented.

Sakura walked over to Shannon, casting a critical eye over her form. "He didn't hurt you, did he?" she asked.

All Shannon could do was shake her head. She thought her brain would overload if she had to see any more supposedly non-existent people.

The pink-haired medic nin looked her over once more before making her sit down again. "You're in shock. You need to rest," she said gently. Once again, Shannon nodded dumbly.

Sakura stood and walked back to her team mates. They talked in hushed whispers, while Shannon's mind started rebooting. She remembered them saying something about taking her back to Konoha…wait. Konoha?

"You said you were taking me back to Konoha," she said softly, half to herself.

Sakura turned around again. "Yes. Hokage's orders."

"I can't go to Konoha when there are still people here I should be looking for," Shannon muttered, climbing to her feet again. "I can't leave them."

"I'm afraid we can't let you stay here. It isn't safe, especially not now," Sakura explained. "We have to get back to the village as soon as possible."

"I can't leave! Especially not now! I have to find my mother, I can't leave her to die here!" Shannon snarled.

"You don't have a choice!" Sasuke glared at her disapprovingly. "You're coming back with us whether you want to or not."

"You expect her to come with us after a statement like _that_?" Naruto gave his team mate a blank stare.

Before Shannon could retort that she did, in fact, have a _choice_, a noise to her left startled her. Everyone focused on the origin of the shuffling noise. Shannon thought she could hear someone breathing heavily.

A moment or two later, Shikamaru limped into the light, supporting a barely-conscious Lee on his shoulder. Hinata stumbled after him, her sunglasses cracked. Sai, as impassive as Shannon remembered him, walked calmly behind them. His shirt was torn and his black jeans scuffed.

"I'm afraid no one's going anywhere," Shikamaru grunted, laying Lee down on the ground. Sakura knelt down beside him, immediately setting to work with her healing chakra.

"Where's that Grass nin?" Sasuke asked, frowning.

"That's the problem," Sai piped up, fingering the gash in his shirt. "One of those shadow creatures got him. We have no way home."

"You mean to tell me that no one else here knows the transportation jutsu?" Naruto exclaimed, wide-eyed.

"Nope," Sai's expression was neutral. "We're stuck here until Konoha figures out how to get us back."

**Yes. I AM evil. :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**The Epic Author's note returns!**

**I'm making a conscious effort to update this story as often as possible, so you faithful readers don't get bored. The least you can do to pay me back is review (PLEEEEEASE) :')**

**Right, shameless pleading aside…down to business.**

**This chapter is set about two weeks after the beginning of the Apocalypse, so Shannon has gotten to know the Konoha team a lot better than before. Everything else shall be revealed….**

**I am aware that this was a rather useless author's note. Meh.**

**READ, ENJOY, AND REVIEW!**

****Chapter 5****

It had only been two weeks since the world ended, but to Shannon, it felt so much longer. The constant nagging worry she had over the whereabouts of her mother and best friends had slowly been worn down to a weak throbbing at the back of her mind – not present in her waking thoughts, but not completely gone either. The only way she managed to squash it down was by pushing herself and not giving herself time to think. She had been the one to suggest that they make for the city - she reasoned it would give them the best chances of survival until Konoha figured out a way to get them back. And it would also give her an oppertunity to search for her mother. Not that any of the other knew that.

She had had time to bond with and get to know her travelling companions a lot better in that short amount of time. When one's life is constantly on the line, one tends to make the best of the time they have left. Shannon found that she got on quite well with most of the squad, aside from Sasuke and Sai. Sasuke and Shannon didn't see eye-to-eye on a lot of things, his nonchalant and controlling manner managing to constantly get under her skin. Whereas Sai…Sai just scared her.

She found that she identified a lot with Sakura and Hinata, aside from the fact that they were the only females in the group of nine. Shannon had a similar temper to Sakura when roused, but when she just needed to be around someone quiet who would listen to her concerns, or just generally would keep her company, she found she could turn to Hinata anytime.

Shannon clambered over a large slab of rubble from a fallen overhead pass as she and the Konoha ninja made their way down an abandoned highway, towards the city centre. Coming to a halt on the other end of the concrete boulder, Shannon stopped to take a breath and rest in the shade, out of the blistering heat of the sun. She shaded her eyes and looked off into the distance, trying to make out the tall shapes of the high-rise buildings that made up the city.

She didn't know if any of them were still standing, after the earthquakes and flaming comets. But if she squinted hard enough, she swore she could still see some indistinct black shapes rising up on the horizon.

A few pebbles of concrete clattered to the ground as two figures dropped down beside Shannon, peering in the direction she was facing.

"See anything yet?" Shikamaru asked, his hands shoved in the pockets of his ripped jeans.

Ah yes, and then there was Shikamaru and Lee. Shannon had probably grown the closest to those two during their journey to the city. She attributed it to the fact that she and Shikamaru had very similar, laid-back personalities (hers being laid-back, his just being plain lazy), and Lee was naturally a very likeable person. When he had first met Shannon, Lee had declared (much to Sakura's chagrin) that he would protect her with his life until they were safely back in Konoha.

"Nothing that I can clearly make out," Shannon replied, rubbing her eyes. Red spots danced in her vision from the bright sunlight.

"How much longer until we reach our destination?" Lee asked, his thick eyebrows scrunched together in concentration as he squinted in the sun.

"I'm not exactly sure, but if we keep going at this rate, we should be there in a few more weeks," she said, starting off again with her companions on either side. The rest of the squad were walking a few meters behind the trio, rapidly tiring in the heat.

"I don't know how those three do it!" Sakura groaned, her head lolling back from exhaustion. "It's like an _oven_ out here!"

"Well, I can understand Lee, his determination is astounding," Sai commented, his expression impassive as always. "And I think Shannon is just used to this climate. The complete anomaly to me is Shikamaru. Who knew he had that much stamina? He never does anything."

"My thoughts exactly," Sakura slapped a hand over her face.

Up ahead, something caught Shannon's eye. She quickened her pace and made her way over to the rusting wreckage of an old delivery truck. The side of the trailer had been torn open, and its contents were spilled out over the ruined highway.

"Look at this!" Shannon called over her shoulder as she rummaged through the pile of debris. She tugged something free of the mess and held it up triumphantly. "Torches!"

"Torches? Hell yeah!" Naruto called from the back of the group, suddenly seeming to find some energy as he dashed over to Shannon.

The group had established a while ago that the Shadow Creatures – as they had dubbed them – were highly intolerant of light, in any way, shape or form. It seemed to burn them, and if in high enough doses, killed them. Torches were a very good defense against a hungry monster trying to claw your face off.

"First of all, do they work?" Shikamaru, took the one Shannon held out to him and rattled it, listening for the clank of batteries.

When he heard the distinct thud inside the plastic torch, he flicked the switch. The lightbulb flickered into life. Shannon, watching over his shoulder, grinned.

"Thank god," she breathed a sigh of relief.

With Naruto and Lee's help, Shannon dug through the mass of junk, pulling out every torch she could find and checking every single one had batteries. She didn't know when they would ever stumble across something like that again.

Light was fast become the most valuable resource out there, along with food. And neither was in plentiful supply. It seemed the Creatures just destroyed everything they came across, including foodstuffs. The squad's supply was dwindling dangerously low, and they had been living off Sakura's soldier pills for the past couple of days. Shannon hated them, but they kept her going.

"How many did you find?" Hinata called as she and the rest of the group arrived at the ruined truck.

"I've got three so far, believe it!" Naruto answered, tossing his down from his position inside the bowels of the trailer.

Lee bounded around from the back of the truck, arms full of the black torches. "The power of youth has blessed me with many!"

Shannon rolled her eyes at Lee's 'youthful obsession' and slid down the pile of junk, clutching her own collection of torches in her arms. She added them to the steadily growing pile.

"These should last us quite a while," Sasuke said, looking down at the number of torches.

"Best share them out and keep the rest packed away for future use," Sakura sighed, dropping to her knees and piling the torches into her pack.

Shannon grabbed a handful and handed them out to the others, one torch each. For emergencies only.

It was about three or four hours later and the squad seemed to be getting no closer to the city than they had before.

"Remind me why we're even going there again?" Shikamaru sighed, his hands clasped behind his head as he walked.

Shannon snorted and whacked him on the shoulder. He pulled a face at her and she smirked. "We've got the best chances of surviving in the city – there's bound to be more food around there, and shelter. And there could be other survivors there, too."

She fervently prayed that there would be other survivors there, namely her mother and Ashley.

"By the time we get there, there probably won't be anyone left," he rolled his eyes. "This is such a drag."

"Stop complaining," his brunette companion snapped. "It could be a lot worse."

"Well, well. What have we here?" a cold voice said somewhere behind them.

The nine companions froze.

"I think you jinxed us, Shannon," Sasuke said flatly.

"Shut up."

**AHMAHGAHD this just wouldn't END D'X**

**I promise the next chapter will be a BAZILLION times better! (or it had better be, at least)**

**Brownie Points to the person who noticed the Chuunin Exams reference XP**

**R&R**

***EDIT**

**I just realized something…I left a major inconsistency hanging… SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I DON'T GET REVIEWS? TERRIBLE THINGS HAPPEN AND I DON'T NOTICE!**

**I realized late last night that I left the thread of Shannon wanting to search for her family and friends completely hanging :/**

**WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME?**

**This issue will be promptly fixed in this chapter. And hopefully something like this will never happen again. I'm a perfectionist that way.**

**Now hopefully we've all learned something from this.**

**I need to pay more attention****You people need to REVIEW. I'll do anything for some feedback. Name your price. Help me avoid mistakes like this in future!**

**There is a serious lack of communication between us, readers :( help me fix that. TAAAAALK TO MEEEEEE.**

**I hope I never sound that desperate again**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note of Epicness**

**I wasn't impressed with the last chapter at all :/ This one will be at least ten times better (hopefully more). And don't count the Akatsuki out just yet! They have a far bigger role to play in this story than I'm currently giving them credit for, poor things. They deserve some recognition.**

**Read, enjoy and review :):):)**

****Chapter 6****

The squad slowly turned around to face the newcomer.

The man was perched on a collapsed road sign, leering at them from a few meters away. Shannon took in his ragged appearance, and the multiple weapons strapped to his person. She inwardly groaned. Marauders – when there was one of them, there were bound to be more lurking just around the corner. The squad had seen Marauders in action several times on their travels, but had always managed to avoid them. They didn't want to get into any fights and waste valuable resources. And the problem with the Marauders was that they often used their vast numbers to overwhelm their targets and take any valuable possessions said targets may have possessed.

"My, my, a group of kids like you all alone out here?" the Marauder sneered, "That's just too easy."

Shannon could see every single squad member tense visibly. She swallowed nervously. She had never been one to engage in physical fights – her slight build had her at a disadvantage against larger opponents.

She watched as the Marauder's eyes swept over the group, sizing them up individually. When his gaze fell on her, Shannon shivered. The man's eyes widened a fraction and his smirk turned into a grin. Dread settled in the pit of her stomach. This was not going to be good. Shannon's eyes flickered around their surroundings, desperately searching for the rest of the Marauder's mob. Shikamaru, sensing her apprehension, glanced at her and back to the Marauder again. He undoubtedly saw the expression in the man's face.

"Where are the rest of them?" he asked in a hushed whisper, sliding into a fighting stance.

"I don't know, I can't see anyone," Shannon swallowed her fear and put on a brave face. She didn't want the others to think of her as weak. "But they have to be around her somewhere."

Grunting, Shikamaru turned his attention back to the Marauder, who was slowly climbing down from the wrecked road sign. His hungry gaze never left Shannon. Frowning, the ninja placed himself infront of the girl. He knew she couldn't fight her way out of this like the rest of them.

"I see you've got something very valuable back there," the detestable man announced, his grin widening and showing off his blackened teeth.

Shannon whipped around, eyes wide. The Marauder noticed this and laughed – a sickeningly dry, scratching sound, like the rasp of sandpaper.

"How about I cut you kids a deal?" he continued, smirking. "You hand me over the girl, and I let you go without a fight."

Shannon's stomach dropped when his dirty, grubby finger pointed directly at her. Why did everyone want a piece of her?

"What if we told you," Naruto answered, fists clenched, "to take a flying leap of a bridge?"

The Marauder chuckled darkly. "Have it your way, kid. Things would have been a lot simpler if you just gave up the brat."

"I don't think so," the blonde growled.

More chuckling from the thug. "Boys!" he barked. "Move in!"

More Marauders materialized from behind burnt-out cars and rubble, seemingly out of thin air. They were all grinning like madmen, armed to the teeth and not looking very friendly.

"What a drag," Shikamaru muttered under his breath, tensing in his fighting stance. He turned to Shannon and told her, "Stay close."

She nodded and looked wildly around the gang of men and boys who were rapidly surrounding them. All of them had their hungry eyes trained on her. Cold shivers worked their way down her spine, and her heart beat in her throat.

"Just get the girl," the leader snarled. "Kill the rest."

Lee took up a fighting stance behind Shannon, determination written all over his face. "Do not worry. We will protect you with our lives if we have to."

Before Shannon could even reply, the Marauders charged, yelling and brandishing their weapons high above their heads.

The other five members of the squad broke off, distracting the majority of the Marauders away from Shannon, Shikamaru and Lee. Shannon cried out and dropped to the ground when one of the men started firing his weapon, some sort of modified rifle, at the three of them. Lee – moving faster than even the bullets - was behind the shooter in seconds. With one swipe of his hand, he disarmed the man and flung him away like a cheap rag doll.

Five of the mean then turned on him, but with his advanced taijutsu skills, they were all out of commission in seconds. The remaining men, sensing that fighting Lee would be a loss for sure, turned on Shikamaru, who stood protectively infront Shannon.

But before they could even take three steps towards the pair, Shikamaru called out, "Kagemane no Jutsu!"

The Marauders, slightly bewildered at his odd statement, failed to notice his rapidly expanding shadow spread over the rubble-strewn ground. When one of the men reached for his gun, he found his hands were glued to his sides. When he cried out in alarm, the rest of the group tried to turn and see what was wrong with him. But, they too found that they couldn't move.

Shikamaru smirked and reached down for a shuriken in his hip holster. Shannon, sensing what was about to happen, scrambled to her feet and averted her eyes. She knew about Shikamaru's Shadow Imitation Jutsu, and knew that none of these Marauders were going to survive this raid. She had no sympathy for the thugs - she had seen them ambush and kill enough survivors for them to have lost the luxury compassion a long time ago. She just wasn't all that comfortable with seeing them die.

In unison, and in perfect sync with Shikamaru's movements, the Marauders all drew their knives and raised them to their throats. When the men realized that they had no control over their own limbs, they began to cry out, their eyes wide with fear. Before they got too loud and attracted the attention of the others, Shikamaru made them swiftly slit their own throats and released the jutsu.

The Marauders dropped to the floor in a bloody heap, to be left as carrion for the Creatures after dark.

"That was too easy," Shikamaru snorted, replacing the shuriken in its holster and straightening out of his fighting stance.

"That was a very interesting technique," Lee commented, walking towards them.

He paused in confusion when a small clay bird fluttered down from above and landed on the ground between them.

"Oh shi-" Shannon's curse was cut off when Lee, using his incredible speed, knocked both her and Shikamaru backwards seconds before the clay bird exploded.

The trio was back on their feet in seconds, looking around wildly for the source of the attack. There was only one person who was capable of an explosion like that. Something caught Shannon's attention from the corner of her eye. She glanced at Shikamaru's back, and yelped when she saw his jacket was on fire.

"Shika, you're on fire!" she cried, tugging at the burning leather.

Shikamaru craned his head over his shoulder to see what Shannon was going on about. When he caught sight of the flames, he yelped and desperately tore the jacket off, chucking it on the ground.

Lee's head snapped up to watch the skies when a large shadow passed over the three of them. A large, bird-shaped shadow.

"Oh shit," now it was Shikamaru's turn to swear.

"This isn't good," Shannon agreed, looking up at the massive clay bird swooping towards them.

"Get down!" Lee shouted, diving to the ground. His companions quickly followed suit, and the clay bird swooped harmlessly over them, its blonde rider laughing maniacally.

"Thought you could get away that easily?" Deidara called down as he maneuvered the bird around. His query was directed at Shannon. She could only stare in horror as the Akatsuki member molded another clay bomb in his hand and threw it down at her.

Shannon was frozen in place by fear, her heart racing but her mind completely blank. Lee and Shikamaru had started running, but when Shikamaru realized Shannon wasn't behind them, he cursed and doubled back for her. He reached her side and dragged her to her feet just as the bomb hit the ground and exploded. The force of the blast sent both of them flying, Shikamaru receiving the brunt of the impact. They hit the ground a few feet away, both winded, the ninja landing half over the stunned girl.

Deidara circled the bird around, molding another bomb for the finishing blow. Shikamaru groaned and gritted his teeth in pain, trying to push himself off Shannon, who was staring in horror at the approaching Akatsuki member.

"Oh no you don't!" both Shannon and Shikamaru jumped at the loud voice. It seemed to snap the girl out of whatever trance she had fallen into.

As Naruto launched an attack against Deidara with about fifty shadow clones, Shannon hurriedly sat up, helping her wounded comrade up. He hissed in pain when she touched his back. Her heart dropping, Shannon apologized and turned his upper body slightly so she could assess the damage.

She winced when she saw that the blast had managed to sear through his black T-shirt, burning his back badly. "Shika, I'm so sorry," she breathed, her hand hovering uncertainly over his wound.

"Wasn't your fault," he sighed, trying to push himself to his feet. He cried out and fell back down, landing on his side.

"Yes, it is!" Shannon blinked back tears and helped her team mate to his feet. He had to lean heavily on her to keep standing. "I shouldn't have frozen like that."

"It was natural under the circumstances," Shikamaru answered, shaking his head. "Anyone would have."

"You should have just kept running," she muttered, tears running down her ash-covered cheeks.

"And what? Leave you to be incinerated?" he offered her a lop-sided smile. "Not an option."

_Because then you'd be disobeying direct orders,_ she thought bitterly. _If it wasn't for those same stupid orders, you wouldn't be hurt like this._

Naruto whooped behind them, and Shannon turned her head to see Deidara beating a hasty retreat on the back of his giant clay bird. The jinchuuriki grinned widely and flashed her a thumbs up. "He won't be coming back any time soon! Believe it!"

Shannon sighed and turned her attention back to her wounded comrade. He was trying very hard not to show any outward signs of pain, but she knew he was must have been hurting a lot.

"Come on, we'd better go find Sakura and get your back sorted out," she said quietly.

The pair limped towards where the rest of the group was rounding up the surviving Marauders.

"Oh, and Shika?" Shannon started, looking at him from the corner of her eye.

"Yeah?" he quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Thanks."

Shannon vowed then and there to never let any of her companions get hurt because of her. She would get stronger, and defend herself. That was a promise.


	7. Chapter 7

**Epically Epic Author's note**

**Can't believe I'm already on chapter seven of this thing :o I'm really really REALLY happy to see how many people are actually reading this it literally makes my day whenever I go look at my story stats /**

**You guys rock!**

**If you're all really liking this, then I have some other fics I've just uploaded, if you guys are interested in reading them *o* **

**Anyway, read and enjoy! (and don't forget to click the review button on the bottom of the page when you're done, kaythanksbye)**

****Chapter seven****

Sakura had been tending to Shikamaru's burns for the last couple of days, and he was slowly making an improvement. The sheer amount of chakra Deidara had packed into the bomb had caused a lot of damage, and Shikamaru was still having trouble walking, so the group rested frequently to allow him time to heal. Sasuke was starting to get impatient with their slow progress.

"Look, why don't you just heal all his wounds in one shot so we can get moving?" he snapped at Sakura one morning.

"I can't do that, Sasuke," the pink-haired medic replied calmly, wrapping bandages around Shikamaru's torso as he sat on the hood of a wrecked SUV. Shannon sat next to the injured nin, glaring at the Uchiha. "His wounds need time to properly heal or he'll never be back up to his full fighting condition."

"We can't keep going at this pace!" the black-haired ninja growled, shaking his head. "The Akatsuki could be tracking us! We'll be sitting ducks if we keep taking so many rests!"

"There's nothing we can do about that," Sakura finished with the bandages and stood, wiping her hands clean with a rag. "We'll just have to keep going and keep a vigilant lookout. It won't take too long for Shikamaru's wounds to heal completely, and then we'll be back to our normal efficiency."

"We had better be," Sasuke growled.

"Will you stop talking like this is all Shika's fault?" Shannon snapped, standing to face Sasuke. "He had no control over any of this."

"Shannon…" Shikamaru shot her a look that told her to sit down and be quiet.

"No, he has to stop being such a whiney little bitch and grow up!" Shannon shot back at him, her temper flaring. She was sick of people getting blamed for her mistakes.

"Troublesome," the brunette ninja muttered under his breath, shaking his head.

"A whiney little bitch, am I?" Sasuke hissed, clenching his fists. He took a few steps towards the girl, but she refused to back down. "You should learn to watch your mouth!"

"And you should learn to respect your team mates more!" Shannon growled, her posture mirroring the Uchiha's. "You're not as perfect as you think you are, Sasuke. Everyone has their flaws, even you. It's time to stop looking down on everyone as inferior and treat them like equals! That's why you're all in this squad! Teams work together, they're not controlled by a single person. So back off and learn some humility!"

"And what about you?" Sasuke pointed accusingly at her, his eyes cold and hard. "You think you can just go around preaching to everyone about how to act? The last time I checked, you were just a scared little weakling looking for everyone else to protect you! It's because of you that we're in this mess in the first place!"

"You think I don't know that?" Shannon's voice rose an octave. Sakura made to calm her down, but one look at the girl's face stopped her.

There was so much rage and frustration there that it was scary. But hints of fear and guilt crossed her features in equal amounts, and Sakura felt a pang of sympathy for her. She knew how she felt, being so helpless, so lost. So weak. Unable to help anyone. Always relying on others and never being able to do anything right.

"I take full responsibility for my actions!" she continued, blinking back tears. "You think I don't wish every day that goes by that I was stronger? That I could protect myself and wouldn't need people to put themselves on the line for me? I HATE being this weak! But I'm going to change that, just wait and see," remorse crept into her voice. Shannon turned and started walking away, in the direction of where the others were resting a few yards away. She paused and looked over her shoulder, her cold gaze landing on the silently fuming Uchiha behind her. "But if I can change, then what's stopping you, Sasuke?"

But Sasuke just kept silent and watched the girl walk away, her head hung low and shoulders tense.

"Well," Sakura said brightly. "She sure stuck it to you, Sasuke."

Later that night, long after the sun had fallen behind the smoldering remains of civilization and dropped from the horizon, the group of survivors sat around their large fire. They kept as close to the flames as possible, staying well within the circle of light.

Shannon had her back against a fallen concrete pillar, her knees drawn up to her chest. After her fight with Sasuke, she hadn't spoken to anyone in the group for several hours, seemingly deep in thought. Hinata sat on her left, offering companionable silence as they both stared into the flickering light of the fire, lost in their own thoughts.

Shikamaru sat on Shannon's left. Her head rested lightly on his shoulder. He was sure he should feel uncomfortable with her close proximity, but strangely enough he didn't mind. After all, she had defended him against Sasuke earlier.

He thought back to their argument and felt a small pang of guilt at Shannon's low opinion of herself. What she lacked in physical strength, she more than made up for in spirit and temper. He just wished she'd stop putting herself down and see it. Shikamaru sighed inwardly. Women were all so troublesome and complicated.

There was a loud keening sound, and Shannon shot up, looking around wildly. The rest of the group cast weary glances around the perimeter of their resting place. They had tried their best to barricade themselves into a lighted area by making their fire in the centre of a ruined traffic circle, surrounded by the decaying carcasses of cars and trucks.

There was the sound of sharp claws skittering over tar and a loud thud as something large landed on the skeleton of a truck. The keening came again, but closer this time. There were more thuds on the opposite end of the traffic circle. It sounded like they were being surrounded.

The squad was on their feet in seconds, kunai and shuriken drawn. Shannon pulled a burning wooden pole out of the fire, brandishing it like a flaming club. She'd be damned if she wasn't going to fight this time.

The scraping of claws on metal and sharp keening was echoing all around them now, setting everyone's nerves on edge. They knew the Creatures wouldn't venture into the light, but eventually the fire would burn out. And the squad had no tinder or firewood left.

Shannon swallowed her fear and tried to let her eyes adjust to the darkness. With the bright light of the fire behind her, all she could see were vague shadowy figures leaping from one wrecked car to the other, circling them like predators.

An idea suddenly occurred to Shannon and she flung her burning stick out into the darkness. As it flew through the air, it illuminated the scene infront of the group of survivors.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me," she breathed, dread settling in the pit of her stomach.

Winged Creatures screeched and took to the air as the flaming torch sailed past them. The flap of leathery wings was soon drowned out by the hisses and growls the remaining Creatures directed at the group of humans when the flames finally hit the ground some few meters away. Four-legged monsters with hundreds of eyes and long fangs poking out from their leathery jaws watched them hungrily from the flickering shadows, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. The winged Creatures, with their disproportionate limbs and massive wings, soon circled around, away from the flames, and landed with loud screeches on the decimated cars.

There must have been hundreds of them.

"How the hell are we going to get rid of all of them?" Naruto shouted in alarm, eyes wide.

"What a drag," Shikamaru muttered, taking up a fighting stance even with his injured back.

"Are you crazy?" Shannon scolded him, pulling him out of it. "Do you want those wounds to open up again?"

"Well I can't just stand here and do nothing," he replied, eyes narrowed.

"I have an idea," Sasuke interrupted, looking intently into the shadows. He activated his Sharingan, the black marks around his iris swirling in circles. "You all might want to take a few steps back."

Casting the Uchiha wary looks, the other hurriedly complied with his suggestion.

Taking up a position infront of the group, Sasuke faced down the growling, screeching Creatures with a smirk on his face. He formed a few hands signs and narrowed his eyes in concentration.

"Katon: Phoenix Immortal Fire Technique!"

A hail of small fireballs were launched from Sasuke's mouth, raining down on the shadowy Creatures. They screeched and roared in panic, the winged monstrosities taking to the air in fright. Many of them were hit by fireballs and disintegrated on contact. The four-legged Creatures roared in frustration at the loss of a meal and turned tail, bounding over cars and rubble, some of the slower ones succumbing to Sasuke's fireballs. In a few moments, they were all gone.

Sasuke turned around, the expression on his face neutral. He made him way back to the fire and prodded it was a metal road lying close by, stirring the flames. "I don't think they'll be back for a while."

"I remember the first time you used that jutsu," Naruto commented, taking up his position on the other end of the fire. When his team mate only grunted in reply, Naruto smiled slightly.

"Thanks, Sasuke."


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note (I'm beginning to run out of things to call it, excuse the lack of creativity)**

**I've noticed that Shannon is losing some of her spark :/ but doubt not! By the end of this chapter, she'll be back to her usual ass-kicking self :D and feel very sorry for anyone who gets in her way! *cough*Sasuke*cough***

**:)**

**And just a warning…if you like puppies…read on…**

**MWAHAHAHAHAHA!**

**I noticed the number of people reading this has dwindled o_0 read, people, read! Or at least review and tell me if I'm doing something wrong…**

**AHMAHGAHD my internet was being flamingly menopausal and wouldn't load anything :O sorry this chapter is so late x_X someone somehow managed to go through 10 gigs of internet this month...leaving me stranded...and unable to upload...**

****Chapter 8****

Shannon didn't think any of her companions, including herself, had slept adequately the past couple of nights. She was sure the Konoha nin had had many brushes with death, but this…this was different. She could see it in their eyes. Those Creatures were unlike anything they had ever encountered before. Shannon guessed it made them feel like Genin again. Small. Weak. Defenseless.

It made them feel a lot like she did. But she was determined to change that. And that determination was what drove her to ask Lee to train her. It made sense – he didn't use chakra to fight, and neither did she. Shannon didn't know if she even had any chakra to begin with.

At first, he had refused, saying his training would be too much for her to handle. But eventually, after much nagging and pleading, Lee finally gave in. And that was how Shannon found herself in her current situation.

…

She hit the ground hard after receiving a particularly hard punch to the gut from Lee, who stood a few feet away. Coughing from the cloud of dust she raised, Shannon struggled to her feet, breathing heavily. They had been at it for the best part of an hour, and yet Lee had barely worked up a sweat. Shannon had to give it to him – he was an amazing fighter. But then again, so were the rest of the shinobi she was travelling with. But Lee…even with his handicap, he was among the strongest in the group. He was probably the one Shannon respected most.

Wiping away a trail of blood that dripped down her chin from a split lip, Shannon gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes in determination. No matter how many times she got knocked down, she would always get back up again. She was going to prove Sasuke wrong, even if it took everything she had.

Wiping her grazed hands down her already grimy and tattered shirt, Shannon took up the fighting stance she had learned from Lee once again. She swallowed, trying to get some moisture down her parched throat. With a frustrated growl, Shannon launched herself back into the fight.

Lee watched the exhausted girl come at him again. He was proud – it was only her third day of training and she was already grasping the beginner's concepts of taijutsu exceptionally well. She truly did seem to have the Power of Youth inside of her. The determination burning in her eyes…it reminded him of when he had first started training with Gai-sensei, how eager he had been to do his best for the only person who had given him a chance to become something better.

And he was going to make sure Shannon became the best fighter she could be.

The others, who sat along the edges of the make-shift training ring Shannon and Lee fought in, cringed outwardly when the girl's attack was blocked yet again and Lee countered with a vicious punch of his own. He truly didn't hold anything back when training Shannon.

She hit the ground again, the momentum received from the punch propelling her backwards until her back smacked into a section of concrete that had ruptured out of the highway.

She groaned and tried to push herself up on shaky arms, but her strength gave out on her and she fell back against the jutting concrete. Her chest heaved and her breath was coming in short, ragged pants. Shannon screwed her eyes closed for a moment, biting back a cry of pain. Her muscles screamed every time she moved, and her head throbbed from the many times it had been smacked into the ground or some other hard surface.

"Alright, I think that's enough for one day," Sakura announced, stepping over a few fallen power cables and into the ring. "I think both of you need some rest."

Shannon cracked an eye open to protest, but when Sakura shot her a knowing look, her argument died on her tongue. She frowned and sighed. Maybe she could use a little rest.

She tried pushing herself up, but her arms just wouldn't cooperate. Shikamaru got up from his position propped up against a section of railway bridge and ambled over to Shannon, his permanently bored expression melting into a smirk as he helped her to her feet. It hadn't been too long ago since she had done the same thing for him.

"I could have managed on my own," Shannon mumbled as Shikamaru helped her hobble over to where their packs were.

"Yeah, right," he snorted, rolling his eyes at her stubbornness. "Didn't look like it from where I was sitting."

"You probably had your eyes closed," she replied indignantly as he set her down. He handed her a piece of stale bread they had managed to salvage from a ruined gas station bakery a few miles back.

"Face it, Shika," Shannon said through a mouthful of bread, pointing the stale food at him. "You're _lazy_."

"Say what you want," he replied, closing his eyes as he rested against his pack. "I'm _not_ lazy."

Shannon made to choke on her bread animatedly. Shikamaru cracked an eye open, his frown deepening. She looked at him incredulously, eyebrow raised.

"Look at yourself now! And you say you're not lazy," Shannon shook her head, her expression uninterested. "I just think you're in denial."

"Me? Lazy?" Shikamaru snorted, looking away from her pointedly. "And what about you? You're barely moving a muscle."

"I've been training the whole morning!" Shannon folded her arms in a huff, glaring at him. The others were still milling around the training ring, practicing their skills.

"Not very efficiently," he smirked. "Lee sure handed it to you."

"Why you…" Shannon lunged at the lazy ninja, ignoring the protests from her muscles.

Despite his slowly healing back injuries, in the blink of an eye Shikamaru had moved from his spot and had Shannon pinned to the ground. He sat on her back and poked her head teasingly. "I'm _not_ lazy."

Shannon tried to throw him off, but she was too worn out after her training with Lee to even move. "I hate you," she grumbled.

"You just keep telling yourself that," Shikamaru smirked, getting off the girl.

She rolled over, flopping onto her back. Shikamaru looked down at her, hands shoved in his pockets. She glared at him and closed her eyes pointedly. "You're mean."

"And you're childish," her companion chuckled, nudging her in the side with his boot.

"Childish I may be, but at least I'm proactive!"

"And I'm Santa Claus."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Claus."

"Did I mention that you're childish?"

"Yup."

…

Later that day, the group continued their journey to the city. It seemed like the dark smudges on the horizon were getting closer. At this point, Shannon could start making out the details of them. Some of the high-rise buildings were still standing, but had massive chunks missing, like some gargantuan monster had taken a bite out of them. Others had crumbled completely to the ground, leaving behind only skeletal remains.

"How much longer 'til we get there?" Naruto whined, his shoulders slumped.

"No idea," Shannon replied, looking straight ahead. "At a guess, I'd say we only need to travel another couple of days."

"Thank Kami!" the blonde exclaimed, grinning widely. "If I had to spend another week on this damn highway, I think I'd die!"

"If you don't shut up, I think we just might arrange that," Sakura growled, clutching her head. "Your whining is giving me a headache!"

"I can't help it if I'm hungry and tired!" Naruto shot back, looking indignant.

"Will both of you pipe down?" Sasuke snapped, frowning. "You're acting like a couple of little kids!"

"Use the Power of Youth, Naruto! It never fails!" Lee declared, his bowl cut glinting in the sunlight.

Shannon gave him a blank look. How he managed to keep his hair like that in the middle of an Apocalypse, no one knew. She fingered her own greasy, matted hair and sighed. She really needed a bath. She glanced down at the clothing Hinata had given her a few weeks ago – the cargo pants were worn down and covered in dust. Holes were beginning to form on the knees. The shirt she wore was shredded in a few places from crawling underneath rubble and old cars in search of food and water.

She snorted inwardly and looked around the rest of the group. They all looked rather worse for wear, clothes ripped and faded, covered in dirt and grime. What Shannon wouldn't have given for a decent shower right about then…hell, she would have given her right arm for a bar of soap.

Hinata joined Shannon at the front of the group as they started walking again, wanting desperately to be away from the noise of Team 7's constant quarreling.

"If they keep going on like that they'll attract every Marauder in the area," she sighed, flicking a blue-black bang out of her eyes.

"I have an idea," Sai piped up, grinning like a psychopath.

Shannon involuntarily shivered.

…

About ten minutes later, the group walked in total silence. Sai, Hinata, Shannon, Shikamaru and Lee walked with smug smiles on their faces at the front of the group. Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto had less pleasant expressions on their faces. What could be seen of them, anyway.

Sai, using his scroll and pens, had created a multi-armed monkey and had set up upon Team 7. Now the monkey balanced on Naruto's head, keeping one of its many hands on each of their mouths, effectively silencing them.

It was in this unusual silence that Shannon heard something strange. She paused for a moment, letting the others carry on without her. She looked over at the pile of rubble that had once been a toll booth. She thought she heard a quiet crying sound coming from the wreckage.

"Shannon? Where are you going?" Shikamaru called after her as she made her way over to where the strange sound was coming from.

But she ignored him, sorting through the rubble. After moving a couple more blocks of concrete and broken bricks, the crying got louder. Shannon shoved a large piece of corrugated iron out of the way, revealing a tiny puppy shivering in the depths of a bucket caught under the rubble.

Her heart clenched painfully at the sorry sight of the animal. He was literally skin and bones, shivering pathetically in a tiny ball at the bottom of the bucket. When it saw Shannon peering down from above, it shrunk back as far as it could go into the shadows.

"Poor baby!" Shannon muttered, reaching in and lifting the poor thing out.

She heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Shikamaru stalking towards her, not looking very happy.

"And what is _that_?" he pointed accusingly at the dog.

Shannon returned his glare with equal fire and started walking back to the others. "He's a dog, what does he look like?"

Sai, seeing what Shannon held in her arms as she approached, and then noticing the enraged expression on Sasuke's face as he caught sight of it, released his jutsu.

"What are you doing?" Hinata gave him a dubious look.

Sai shrugged. "What? It should be entertaining."

As Shannon and Shikamaru rejoined the group, Sasuke pointed a finger at Shannon and said venomously, "We are _not_ bringing that with. We have enough problems as it is, we don't need to be looking after a dog as well!"

"I'm not leaving it here to die!" Shannon shot back, trying to walk around him.

But Sasuke wouldn't move. His glare intensified, but Shannon refused to back down. "This is no time to be listening to your conscience, Shannon. Be realistic! That thing would just slow us down!"

"Well, let me just tell you something, Mister High-and-mighty Uchiha," she snarled, jabbing him in the chest with a finger while clutching the shivering furball to her chest, "I. Am. Keeping. The. Dog." And with that, she turned tail and walked away, head held high.

A few yards away, Sai broke out in applause. "It certainly was entertaining!"

Hinata sighed in exasperation and clipped him over the back of the head.

**I'm busy with Chapter nine currently, it won't be too long before I upload it! And I go back to school on Monday...so I might not be able to upload as often as I'd like to -_-**

**please bear with me o.o'**


	9. Chapter 9

**Screw maths homework, I'm doing this! XD**

**I think I'm spoiling you people too much :/ **

**I'll update the next chapter when I get a review, dammit! I really am tired of nagging, and I know you guys must hate it too. Make the world a better place! Review and I'll update the next chapter :3**

…**..please don't hate me 3**

****Chapter nine****

"So…what breed do you think it is?"

Shannon glanced between Hinata and the puppy as it devoured a dead bird it had found. She made no move to stop him. The poor thing needed _something _to eat.

She frowned, scrutinizing the puppy's mottled black and dark brown coat. It was a short-haired breed, she could tell that much. Other than that obvious fact, she really was clueless. The only thing she had to go by was the shape of his snout and his ears.

Frowning, Shannon finally came to a conclusion. "It sort of looks like a Rottweiler to me," she said, cocking her head to the side as she watched the dog eat.

Soon enough, he had finished eating and sat back, licking his chops contentedly. He looked between Hinata and Shannon with big mud-brown eyes.

"I'd have to agree with you there," the blue-haired kunoichi replied.

Shannon pulled her water bottle out of her pack and knelt down. She unscrewed the top, scrutinizing how much was actually left in the bottle. She sighed when she saw there wasn't much. Shrugging, Shannon poured some water into her cupped hand and held it out to the puppy, which eagerly pounced and started drinking.

"Poor thing looks like it hasn't had a decent drink in days," Hinata shook her head sadly.

Shannon stayed silent for a moment or two, regarding her new companion.

"He needs a name," she said eventually.

"Hmm," was the only reply she received.

"What do you think, Shika?" Shannon looked over her shoulder at Shikamaru, who lay propped up against a battered telephone pole, eyes closed.

"Huh?" he cracked an eye open.

"The dog," she repeated, scratching the puppy affectionately behind the ear. "He needs a name."

Shikamaru waved a hand lazily. "I dunno, I don't like dogs."

"That helps!" Shannon snorted, rolling her eyes.

She sat back on her haunches, stroking the unnamed animal absent-mindedly.

"What about Kiba?" Naruto piped up, chewing on a rock-hard hotdog roll.

Hinata giggled. "Kiba?"

"Yeah!" Naruto grinned, gesturing at the dog. "I think ol' Dog-boy will be honored that we named a mutt after him."

Shannon chuckled and picked the puppy up, cradling it him in her arms. "Kiba it is, then."

…

Despite Shikamaru's so-called 'dislike' of dogs, he and Kiba got on surprisingly well. The puppy followed him and Shannon everywhere, although sometimes it was a tad annoying having to fish him out of ditches and holes every few steps.

Eventually, Shannon had just taken to carrying the hyperactive ball of fur in her pack whenever they were crossing particularly tricky terrain. He didn't seem to mind though – infact, he rather seemed to enjoy the view. Shannon supposed it was a change to being down on the ground all the time.

A couple of days after they had first taken the dog into their little group, the squad reached the outer city limits. Shipping containers from the inland depot lay scattered over the roads like oversized building blocks, some crushed and rusting.

Dilapidated warehouses lined the empty highway the group now traversed. Factories that had once been fully-operational now lay in ruins, smoke-blackened and rotting. Shannon, after being used to the sheer volume of abandoned cars on their travels through the country roads, was a little disturbed by the distinct lack of vehicles in the city. They hadn't seen a single one so far.

She frowned. The abandoned cars had been a vital resource throughout the squad's travels. They always held some items of use, and if they were really lucky, food and water. But here…there was nothing.

As they came to a ridge in the road, Shannon heard voices. She wasn't the only one, though. Sasuke, who had been leading the group through the ruined outskirts of the city, held a hand for them to stop. He cocked his head to the side, listening intently.

"What is it?" Naruto asked, frowning as he too listened for the voices.

"More people, just over that ridge in the road," Sasuke replied, lowering his voice. "I don't know exactly how many, but there are definitely more than three."

"Marauders?" Sai pondered aloud.

Sasuke shook his head. "I don't think so. They're too quiet."

"Hinata? Could you check before we proceed any further?" Sai turned to their blue-haired team mate.

Nodding, Hinata activated her Byakugan, veins bulging and straining around her pupil-less purple eyes. A few moments of tense silence passed before she finally deactivated her kekkei genkai and answered.

"They don't look like Marauders, more like civilians making their way to the city centre," she replied. "There are four of them, two girls and two boys, not much older than ourselves. They appear unarmed."

"Civilians?" Shannon asked, hope flaring for a brief moment in her chest. If they weren't much older than her and the squad, there was a high chance it could be…

Hinata nodded her head. Before anyone could stop her, Shannon was clambering over the ruptured highway and sliding down the other side.

"Shannon! Come back here!" she heard Sasuke, Shikamaru and Naruto call out to her simultaneously, but she ignored them and kept going.

The concrete expressway flatted and broadened out into a large intersection, covered in rubble and other debris from the fallen, mutilated buildings around it. Shannon spotted four figures some distance away, too far away to make out any details. She heard scuffing behind her and broke into a run. She wasn't going to let any of them tow her back to the group. She had to find out who those people were.

"Shannon!" Sasuke barked as she bolted from them. "This is no time for games! You don't even know who those people are!"

Ignoring the outraged Uchiha, Shannon kept running. The closer she got, the more details she could make out of the group of people. Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes when she noticed familiar flame-red hair.

"Ashley!" she called out, choking back a sob.

Shannon saw the group of people stop walking and turn towards her. One of them started running towards her. Shannon's heart leapt when she came to the conclusion that is was, indeed, Ashley she was sprinting towards.

"Shannon!" the voice that reached back to her was cracked with emotion.

Shannon doubled her speed, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. She didn't care how close behind her Sasuke and the others were. She had to get to Ashley. In moments, the two girls collided with one another, sobbing uncontrollably.

They clung to each other like they were the last stable things in the entire world.

"I thought you were dead!" Ashley choked out, her arms wrapped around Shannon's shoulders so tightly it was painful.

"I told you I'd find you, didn't I?" Shannon replied, grinning through her tears as she held her best friend just as tightly.

The other members of Ashley's small group came running up to the two. Looking over the red-head's shoulder, Shannon recognised another one of her best friends, Carli. Shannon, Ashley and Carli had been inseparable in school, and Shannon had worried just as much about her as the others.

Behind Carli were two other boys Shannon had been good friends with, Luke and Justin. Carli literally bodyslammed into the other two girls as she enveloped them in a crushing bear hug. The three of them just stood there, relieved to finally be together again.

Shannon eventually broke away, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand. She sniffed and smiled at her friends, looking them over. They seemed to be okay, just a little bruised and dusty and frayed, not unlike Shannon and the ninja squad. Suddenly remembering her travelling companions, Shannon looked sheepishly over her shoulder as the three nin who were watching her with varying degrees of annoyance.

"That was stupid, even if you do know these people," Sasuke scolded, eyes narrowed and arms crossed.

Shannon rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, grimacing as she took a step back from her old classmates. "Yeah…sorry about that Sasuke…"

The black-haired Uchiha just snorted and rolled his eyes at her. He knew no matter what he said, she still wouldn't take any of it to heart. She was just too stubborn.

"Aw, stop being such a sourpuss Sasuke!" Naruto laughed, slapping him team-mate heartily on the back.

Sasuke stumbled a little from the force of the blow and turned to glare at the loud-mouthed blonde, who just laughed.

Shannon caught Shikamaru's eye and he smirked, nodding his head at Sasuke and Naruto before rolling his eyes. She chuckled, turning back to her confused friends.

Shannon smiled apologetically at them, shrugging. "You'll have to excuse them. They can be a little…odd."

**Nothing happened in here…I know…I blame writer's block -_-'**

**Things pick up nicely in the next chapter :D but you'll only see it if you review :) **

**Seriously, it doesn't even have to be a long review - just tell me what you enjoy about the story, what I can do to improve it, or even what your favourite part is so far! This story is literally nothing without feedback.**

**Please don't hate me and stop reading :s keep reading! One or two more reviews and I'll have the next chapter up before you can even blink!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Eyo people!**

**I really am ecstatic about the reviews! Thank you all so much! :D**

**MidnightheartXxX – thanks for taking the time to comment :) yeah, Shannon is only human, after all ;D though she is determined to become stronger for the others' sake, but that would be a normal thing for her. She would hate having to rely on everyone all the time :3**

**NotAStalker – so many questions…questions are good! I like questions! :D and because I'm so happy that you're enjoying the story…I'll answer them! :D**

**Yes, Shannon will find out about the ability everyone wants her for…right in this very chapter…so stay tuned XD**

**Sasuke will eventually come to respect her…for reasons that will be revealed later on, I don't want to spoil anything now lol**

**As for Shikamaru…don't worry, he's going to grow a backbone and say something soon :3**

**Her friends are already crazy, to some extent :P (they have to be crazy to some degree to actually stick around with these people XD)**

**The food/water/paradise aspect…I'm not so sure about that, it is an Apocalypse after all :P but the setting will improve soon :D**

**And yes! I answered all the questions! :D**

**I use a lot of emoticons…I know…I blame BBM! *shrugs***

**And now, onto the next thrilling chapter! *points dramatically***

****Chapter 10****

It had been about five days since Ashley, Carli, Luke and Justin had joined Shannon and the ninja squad on their way to the city centre. They had headed much deeper into the mass of ruined and crumbling buildings, coming nearer to their destination with each day they travelled. Shannon's anticipation of finding her mother continued to increase the closer they got.

Her training with Lee had been going well, and she had mastered the basic techniques of taijutsu and one or two of the more advanced methods. Nothing close to his Shadow of the Dancing Leaf technique, but it was a start. At least she would be able to defend herself against enemies now, and not have to rely on the others to put their lives on the line for her sake. And, Shannon thought with relief, she would be able to protect the ones in the group who couldn't defend themselves, like Ashley and Carli.

Shannon still remembered Sasuke's biting words to her, from what seemed like so long ago. _Weak,_ he had called her. If there was one thing Shannon hated being called, it was weak. She detested the word. And she would show him he was wrong. She would become stronger, more self-reliant. Then he would have to take those words back.

Shannon, walking at the head of the now moderately larger group, glanced up at the sky. What she could see of it, at least. Some of the taller buildings had fallen against each other, forming crumbling arches that blotted out the sunlight and bathed everything beneath their colossal bulk in shadow.

She frowned worriedly. They had been travelling for hours, still without sign of food or water, or adequate shelter. Their resources were beginning to run dangerously low with four extra mouths to feed. And then sun was starting to set.

"There doesn't look like much daylight left," Naruto commented, squinting at whatever traces of blue he could see.

Shannon, after fishing Kiba out of yet another hole he had managed to fall into and depositing him in her pack, sighed. "We can't stop moving until we find somewhere safe for the night."

The rest of the group glanced around their current surroundings – collapsed buildings, shattered shop front windows, crumpled billboards, rubble and broken glass littering every available surface…and not a single open space in sight. Nowhere to safely light a fire to keep the Creatures away.

"We certainly can't stop here," Sasuke snorted, adjusting his pack. "We'd be picked off one by one without even realizing it."

"Way to keep a positive outlook on things," Both Sakura and Shannon rolled their eyes at their team mate.

"We'll just have to keep moving," the pink-haired medic-nin said.

"What a drag," Shikamaru snorted, shaking his head. "As if we weren't already suffering from sleep deprivation as it is."

Shannon sniggered, making her way around another large chunk of rubble. "All you ever think about is sleep!"

"Keep going? Without stopping the whole night?" Naruto whined. He swore he could feel the weariness creeping into his bones just at the thought of pulling an all-nighter.

"We don't really have a choice," Hinata tried placating him softly. "It's either that, or run the risk of being eaten in our sleep."

The blonde ninja pulled a face. "Great, just great…" he grumbled under his breath, trudging after the rest of them.

"Don't worry, Naruto! The Power of Youth will give us the strength to continue!" Lee announced, the proverbial flames of said power burning bright in his eyes.

"Sure Lee, you just keep telling yourself that," Ashley mumbled under her breath as she walked next to Shannon.

"Give the guy some credit, that Power of Youth belief of his has got us quite far," Shannon chuckled, elbowing the red-head playfully.

…

Just as Sakura had suggested, the group kept moving even as the sun fell and darkness descended over the ruined city. They paused only once, to gather a few battered scaffolding poles and wrap some cloth torn from an old shirt around them, setting them alight with one of Sasuke's fire jutsus to make some improvised torches. Shannon hoped they would be enough to keep the Creatures away.

She picked her way carefully around another section of fallen high-rise building, making sure to keep herself in the light shed by the torch Shikamaru carried as he walked beside her.

She couldn't suppress the shudder she felt at the thought of being in the dark with all those terrifying Creatures walking around, probably stalking them at that very moment. Shikamaru noticed the movement out of the corner of his eye. Doing something very uncharacteristic for him, he took Shannon's hand in his own.

Shannon started slightly at the sudden contact, looking curiously up at her companion. He kept his lazy expression carefully intact when he looked down to meet her eyes.

"What?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow seemingly nonchalantly.

Shannon averted her gaze quickly, grateful for the flickering shadows that hid he blush snaking across her face. "Nothing," she muttered.

Shikamaru was just as grateful to the flaming torch he carried, for much the same reasons.

"You don't have to be so scared of the dark, the torches'll be sure enough to keep those things away," he assured her, squeezing her hand slightly.

Shannon smiled slightly, touched at his concern. She found it amusing how inexperienced he seemed at offering words of comfort.

"Thanks, Shika," she replied softly, her grip tightening on his hand.

…

The group made their way through the ruined city an hour or so before dawn. Sasuke and Sakura carried burning torches to keep the Creatures away. Shikamaru and Shannon led the group, picking their way careful around and over toppled skyscrapers and the crushed carcasses of fallen trains.

Broken shop windows glinted in the fire light, and the only noise was that of concrete and other debris crunching under their boots. Kiba whined softly in Shannon's backpack, not liking the dark at all.

Suddenly, Shikamaru held an arm out to signal for the group to stop. He cocked his head to the side, listening intently.

"What is it?" Shannon whispered, glancing around in hope of seeing something.

"I sense another chakra presence…" Shikamaru muttered in reply, frowning as he tried to pinpoint the source.

Eyes widening a fraction, Shikamaru spun around, looking at something behind the rest of the group.

Shannon tried following his line of sight, cold dread rising in the pit of her stomach and spreading throughout her entire body like ice.

"Fancy meeting you maggots here," a smooth voice drawled, somewhere off to Hinata's right.

All twelve of them spun around to face the source of the noise. The light from Sakura's torch illuminated a black and red cloak, torn and faded and covered in dust, as well as the metallic glint of a tri-bladed scythe.

"Not _this _creep again," Ashley whimpered, standing close by to Shannon.

Shannon just gritted her teeth and clenched her fists as she glared at the Akatsuki member who had intercepted them. "Hidan," she spat out the name like it was something distasteful.

"In the flesh, bitches," the silver-haired man smirked, his pale indigo eyes narrowing.

"It would be wise if you avoided conflict with us," Sai said, his voice betraying no hint of emotion as he directed the comment at the lone enemy.

Hidan scowled as his infamous temper surfaced, gripping the handle of his scythe tightly. "And why would that be, brat?"

"In case you haven't noticed, you seem to be outnumbered twelve to one," Sai continued, leaning his head to the side thoughtfully. He regarded the civilians among them. "Make that eight to one. But still, you get the point. The odds most certainly are not in your favor."

Shannon tensed, seeing the expression on the pale man's face flicker from outraged to bloodthirsty. His teeth flashed in the flickering firelight as he grinned wickedly.

"We'll see about that," he sneered.

Before anyone could even bat an eyelid, Hidan had moved. He appeared in front of Shannon in what must have been nanoseconds, pulling an arm back and striking her across the face with such force she was sent flying backwards into the side of an ash-blackened building.

She cried out when she made sharp contact with the cracked concrete, jolting her entire body painfully. Kiba yelped as he tumbled out of her pack, still unharmed, and scampered towards the safety of the light.

"Shannon!" before any one of her eleven companions could make a move to her defense, Hidan was on the move again. This time, with his scythe raised for the killing blow.

He was moving so fast Shannon could barely comprehend which direction he was coming from. All she saw were the wickedly sharp trio of blades rapidly descending towards her.

She threw her arms up to shield her face, when she felt something in the back of her mind snap. It almost felt as though someone had physically flicked a switch on her brain. Time seemed to slow for a fraction of a second, just enough time for Shannon to scream for a blow that never came.

There was a surprised grunt before her, and the clatter of something large and metallic hitting the ground. Shaking, it took Shannon a moment to realize she was still breathing, still in one piece. She cracked an eye open cautiously, slowly lowering her arms. She gasped loudly when her eyes adjusted to the darkness.

Hidan had been stopped merely inches away from her, not by any one of the ninja behind him, but by thick tendrils of shadow that pierced his pale body in several places. Eyes wide, Shannon followed the length of one of the shadowy protrusions. She gulped audibly when she saw they emerged from her own body, like porcupine quills. They writhed and pulsating with a life of their own, reminding Shannon of snakes. Inky, shadowy snakes.

Her eyes flickered back to Hidan. He looked down at her with a mixture of shock and confusion plastered across his face. He coughed weakly, a trail of blood creeping down from the corner of his gaping mouth.

Breathing heavily, Shannon could only stare at the injured immortal, her mind completely blank; clueless as to what had happened. As if on their own instinct, the shadow spikes retracted from Hidan, pushing him away from their host and leaving him in a bloody heap on the dust-covered ground. The tendrils of darkness slowly sank back into Shannon's shaking body.

"Shannon!" tearing her eyes away from the groaning Akatsuki member on the ground, the shaken girl looked up at Shikamaru, Lee and Ashley, who were dashing towards her.

Her shaking intensified, and Shannon's knees gave out on her. She would have fallen to the ground if Shikamaru hadn't caught her. He held her tightly, like he was afraid she was going to dissipate like smoke at any given second.

"Are you okay?" Ashley asked, frantically checking her best friend for any signs of injury.

Shannon could only shake her head and cling to Shikamaru's arm. Her mind was numb, like she had just woken from a bad dream and was still adjusting to reality. The only thing she could tell was wrong with her was the throbbing on her face where Hidan had struck her.

Lee scrutinized her closely. "I do not remember you ever using that jutsu when we trained," he commented, frowning slightly.

"J-jutsu?" Shannon stuttered. "What jutsu?"

"That shadow jutsu you used on the Akatsuki man," Lee persisted. "I have never seen anything like it."

"I don't think that was a jutsu, Lee," Sasuke's voice called from behind them.

He and the rest of the group appeared a moment later, bearing the torches that kept the Creatures away. It was still dark, but traces of dawn could be seen cracking through the black night sky on the distant horizon.

"What do you mean?" Shikamaru asked, supporting a very dazed and confused Shannon in his arms.

"I was using my Sharingan to analyze Hidan's movements and I caught sight of her attack," the Uchiha clarified, looking intently at Shannon with curiosity burning in his gaze. "That attack used no chakra, so it couldn't have been a jutsu. Those shadows, or whatever they were, are part of her. They seem to be like natural weapons, like a kekkei genkai."

"At least now we know why both Konoha and the Akatsuki want her so desperately," Sai said, his voice level as he regarded her with a calculating look.

Shannon regained some of her composure and looked down at Hidan, sprawled at her feet. He groaned in the ever-expanding pool of blood blossoming around his body. Shannon knew he couldn't die, but that didn't stop a stab of worry piercing her gut. She had never taken a life before, and truly didn't think she could even if it was her own life on the line.

She was still a very much inexperienced fighter, even with the skills she had learned from Lee. She hadn't been on any battlefields or seen nearly as much blood and death as the shinobi around her.

She wasn't a killer. And she never wanted to be.

**An extra long chapter for my extra special readers :D hope you enjoyed!**

**Please don't forget to drop me a review and tell me what you think :):)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Shalom! :D**

**Once again, thanks to NotAStalker for reviewing, those comments literally make my day :3**

**And I totally agree with you about love triangles! Hate those things, will never write about them :/**

**And just because you asked so nicely…here's chapter 11!**

**Jeez, can't believe this is already the eleventh chapter…wow :o and ass-kicking Shannon is back! XD 'bout time, too.**

****Chapter eleven****

Shannon didn't have much time to recover from the shock of discovering her new-found…abilities. Her heart skipped a beat when a hand grabbed onto her ankle from below.

"I'm not done with you yet!" Hidan growled, ripping her away from Shikamaru and tossing her like a sack of potatoes across the road.

Shannon yelped, landing heavily on her side and sliding a few feet before coming to stop against the crumpled bulk of a train. The attack seemed to snap her out of her daze, and she scrambled to her feet, taking up a fighting stance, just like Lee had shown her.

With an animalistic growl, Hidan sprang up from his prone position on the ground, knocking the shocked ninja and civilians away from him and sending them flying in all different directions. Shannon gaped in amazement as the various puncture wounds in his body slowly sewed themselves closed, leaving nothing but bloody trails down Hidan's torso and holes in his tattered cloak to show that they had ever been there in the first place.

Before any of the Konoha nin could right themselves and help her, Hidan launched himself at Shannon with murder in his eyes. Narrowing her eyes and gritting her teeth, Shannon readied herself for the oncoming assault.

She blocked the punch that came straight for her head, countering with an uppercut of her own. Hidan, surprised at her actually being able to defend herself, left himself open and was knocked backwards slightly when the less-experienced girl's fist connected solidly with his jaw.

Shannon took the opportunity, while the Akatsuki member was still stunned, to sweep her leg out in a low roundhouse kick and knock Hidan's legs out from under him. He hit the ground hard, but didn't stay there for long. Before Shannon could land another punch to his gut, Hidan was back on his feet. While she was still trying to come out of her offensive stance, he kicked her in the back, sending her sprawling across the uneven ground. She grunted and rolled out of the way just as his foot came crashing down where her head had been mere seconds earlier.

Shannon smacked into a fallen pillar, trapping herself. She looked up in alarm as Hidan's foot came hurtling down to her head again. Acting on instinct, Shannon kicked upwards. There was a high-pitched grunt as the solid heel of her worn combat boots connected with Hidan's groin.

Smirking, Shannon scooted backwards as Hidan doubled over. She scrambled to her feet, ready for his next move. Well, the next move he could make after he recovered. Being immortal and all, it didn't take very long.

"You little bitch!" he growled, glaring at her as he crouched down. "You'll pay for that!"

Shannon's smirk just widened. She was actually reveling in the fact that she could hold her own in combat now, and not have to have any of the others fight her battles for her. Her taijutsu may have been very basic, but it seemed to be enough to handle Hidan when he was without his scythe.

While she and the silver-haired Akatsuki had been facing off, the rest of the group had gathered themselves up from their various scattered positions, Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto and Sai desperately trying to keep the torches burning.

Naruto's keen ears picked up a faint sound steadily increasing in volume. He held a hand for the others to be silent for a moment as he peered into the darkness. After a moment, his eyes widened and his mouth set itself in a fierce scowl.

"Naruto?" Hinata started softly, concerned. "What is it?"

"Creatures," he breathed, the panic evident in the subdued tones of his normally loud voice. "And a lot of them."

Pretty soon, the others could hear them too – growling, screeching, roaring Creatures rapidly closing the distance between themselves and the group of humans.

"The torches are still burning," Sai pointed out, seemingly un-phased.

Naruto shook his head, starting to make his way towards the end of the street, where a large expanse of land had been cleared by comets and who knew what else. "Torches won't be enough to keep these ones away."

Then they heard it – a mighty, earth-shaking roar, loud enough to rattle the pebbles of concrete littering the ground and resonate between the fallen buildings, making even them seem like they were trembling in fear. Gigantic footfalls pounded towards them from the darkness, making the ground vibrate under their feet.

The rest of the group turned and ran as the first Creatures appeared from the murky darkness – six-legged canines, with elongated snouts bursting with razor-like teeth and tens of murderously-glinting red eyes.

"Shannon!" Lee shouted to his team mate some couple of yards away, "Leave the idiot! It's time to move!"

Shannon cried out when one of the canine Creatures launched itself at Hidan just as he was about to land another blow to her stomach, man and beast rolling over the ground. Hidan yelped and tried to rip the snarling beat off of him, but the rest of its pack soon arrived.

Without hesitation, Shannon fled with the rest of her squad. She glanced up at the sky – the shadows were rapidly disappearing, replaced by increasingly bright sky. She glanced behind her as another mighty roar shook the very foundations of the ground she ran on. Out of the shadows, she could see a massive monster appear – built like a tank, two stories tall, with a short muzzle bristling with teeth easily the size of her torso – bounding after them in hot pursuit.

"Drop the torches!" she screamed, doubling her running speed as she rapidly dodged past rubble and other pieces of destroyed humanity.

The torch-bearing members of the squad risked a peek over their shoulders as they ran. Almost immediately, they flung the make-shift torches to the ground and bolted for all they were worth. They all turned their sights back to the lightening sky ahead of them. If they could keep going for a little while longer, they would be out of the shadows of the decrepit buildings and out into the sunlight.

As the twelve of them reached the threshold of the clearing, time seemed to slow down, like it was being dragged through syrup.

Twelve pairs of boots pounded over the cracked ground, kicking up clouds of dust. Their bodies seemed to be paused in mid-flight, legs and arms outstretched, varying degrees of fear and determination etched across their features as they gave that one final desperate burst of speed.

The gargantuan creature had seemingly been suspended in mid-air as it launched itself at its fleeing prey, jaws open wide in another deafening roar. Then sun was slowly making its way above the buildings.

And then, almost as if someone had pressed play on a television remote, everything suddenly and violently came back to life.

Sunlight spilled over the ragged rooftops, illuminating everything below it. The twelve companions sprinted into the clearing as the bright light hit the terrifying Creature behind them full-on. With a high-pitched scream of pain, the monstrosity burst into a cloud of black ash, spilling over the humans as the bolted out of the line of buildings.

All twelve of them burst through the black ash cloud, and didn't stop running until they were in the centre of the clear expanse of land, completely bathed in sunlight.

Shannon and the others crashed to the ground, panting and utterly exhausted. They lay there for a few moments, reveling in the fact that they were alive and breathing. Shannon glanced at the others lying haphazardly around her, chests heaving and limbs twitching. She looked back at the settling dust cloud that had almost eaten them alive. And then she started laughing. It started out as breathless gasps, and soon turned into full out screams of near-hysterical laughter.

They were alive. They had escape the Akatsuki for what must have been the second time (or third, in her case), and had avoided being eaten, maimed or mauled by a whole myriad of despicable creatures. And despite all the odds stacked against them in this ruined country, they were very much _alive._

Shannon felt that if she didn't laugh in relief, she would cry tears of sheer happiness. And she had never been one for tears.

Shikamaru, who had collapsed next to her, tilted his head and gave her a quizzical look. "What the hell are you laughing at?" he asked, a small disbelieving laugh of his own creeping into the statement.

"We're alive," she snorted, gasping for air. Suddenly, she threw her arms around the brunette ninja next to her. "We're alive!"

Slightly shocked at her sudden boldness, Shikamaru was paralyzed for a moment or two. Shannon continued to laugh so hard her sides ached. Pretty soon, the rest of the group found her laughter contagious. Shikamaru startling chuckling along too, wrapping his arms around Shannon's petite form.

The twelve of them just lay there, after having escaped death twice in the space of a few minutes, laughing their lungs out, and just generally rejoicing that fact that they were alive and breathing.

**Woohoo! Chapter eleven done and dusted :D**

**If anyone has any ideas on what they would like to happen in the next chapter, let me know!**

**And don't forget to review if you want to see chapter 12! :3**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey wonderful people,**

**Thank you so much to everyone that reviewed, you guys make this a very gratifying experience :3**

**Sorry this is so late, I had a pretty hectic weekend and had literally NO time to write -_-'**

**But anyway, no excuses! Here's the next chappie for you amazing readers and reviewers :D**

**And for those of you that were wondering what had become of Shannon's mother…you'll find out soon enough ;D**

****Chapter twelve****

It was the night after the attack by both Hidan and the shadow Creatures that Shannon and her companions were settled around a roaring fire. They had stumbled upon an abandoned scrap yard the deeper they ventured into the twisted mass of metal and concrete that had once been a city, and had managed to salvage a few large pieces of timber to use as firewood.

A sort of victorious silence had fallen over the group, after their simultaneous brushes with death. Sasuke sat silently beside the fire, prodding the crumbling wood with a metal pole to keep the flames alive, pondering exactly what type of ability Shannon had uncovered earlier.

Naruto was passed out on the ground, snoring loudly and contentedly after having finally been allowed to sleep. Hinata was right next to him, staring distractedly into the flickering light of the fire, her thoughts most probably centered on the slumbering blonde at her side.

Sakura was poring over a medical scroll, nothing unusual there. Sai was doodling distractedly on his scrolls, wondering idly if he could recreate something similar to Shannon's ability to use in his next battle.

Luke and Justin were sleeping in front of the fire, subconsciously keeping as close to the light as possible. Carli and Ashley sat on either side of Shannon, all three of them watching very amusedly as Lee and Shikamaru had yet another debate on Lee's 'Power of Youth' philosophy.

A thought struck Shannon as she sat and looked around her group of companions. This was the most relaxed they had been in what must have been months – Naruto was actually _sleeping_. And not just lightly dozing with one eye open like he had been. He was properly _passed out_ on the ground.

And Sakura was _reading_. Not once on their travels had Shannon ever seen the pink-haired kunoichi let her guard down, especially not to read, of all things. Shannon chuckled to herself. It was certainly a change to their normal state of constant fear and apprehension.

"The Power of Youth has gotten us this far, has it not?" Lee said loudly, his tone exasperated, breaking Shannon out of her reverie.

"That theory is completely bogus," Shikamaru scoffed, folding his arms and rolling his eyes. "What's gotten us this far is instinct and sheer luck!"

"Well, I think your luck's just about run out, kid."

A new voice suddenly stopped their argument in its tracks. All the conscious members of the group raised their heads slowly, dread settling in their stomachs like lead weights. Shannon cursed mentally. She should have known they wouldn't have been out of the woods yet.

It didn't take Sasuke long to find the source of the voice. He was on his feet in seconds, a kunai drawn. The others followed his line of sight with apprehension, wondering what enemy they would have to face this time.

Shannon swallowed audibly when she laid eyes on yet another Akatsuki cloak about seven meters away, the third she'd had the misfortune of seeing. She then caught sight of a black mask covering the lower half of a shadowed face, and piercing green eyes literally shining in the darkness. The green eyes took in Sasuke's weapon and Kakuzu snorted.

"You'd best put that away, boy. I have no interest in fighting the likes of you," he said dismissively. His sentence was punctuated by a few muffled shouts from the sack he had slung over his shoulder.

He glanced at it briefly before continuing. "I have the sense to not take on an enemy when I am vastly outnumbered, unlike my partner here."

Kakuzu sneered the word partner like it was something distasteful.

Sasuke lowered the weapon slightly, still not letting his guard down or taking his eyes off the Akatsuki member. "What do you want?" he growled.

Kakuzu shrugged. Shannon noticed the stitches from one of his arms were extended into the darkness, connected to something the light couldn't reach. A ball of apprehension formed in her stomach.

"I'm here to merely propose a trade," the masked man answered. "Seeing as none of my fellow organization members seemed to have gotten very far using alternate methods."

"What kind of trade?" Sakura had discarded her scroll and was on her feet alongside Sasuke. Her tone was highly suspicious.

Kakuzu's piercing gaze flickered from Sasuke to Sakura, and then finally settled on Shannon. Her heart felt like it would beat straight out of her chest as those unnatural eyes bore into hers.

"The girl," Kakuzu tugged on his stitched, bring whatever they were attached to into the flickering fire light, "for the woman."

Shannon's heart felt like it had stopped beating entirely when she set eyes on the person entangled in Kakuzu's binding stitches.

"Mom…" she breathed, scrambling to her feet, eyes wide and breathing shallow. She found her voice a moment later and yelled, "What are you doing with my mother? Let her go!"

Shannon began taking a few steps towards the Akatsuki member and her wide-eyed mother. Kakuzu tightened his hold on the older woman and narrowed his eyes. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, girl. If you want her to keep breathing, that is."

Shannon stopped in her tracks, biting back a cry as the masked man tightened his stitches around her mother's petrified face.

"Here's the deal," Kakuzu went on in his business-like tone. "You bring the girl to the other side of town – the main train station - in a week. We let the woman go. Simple enough."

Shannon couldn't answer to defend herself or protest even if she wanted to. Her eyes were glued to her mother's…to the terrified face of the woman who had raised her and cared for her for seventeen years, who now needed her more than ever. And she was powerless.

After all this time of searching and hoping she was still alive and safe somewhere…now she was in shouting distance and Shannon couldn't move a muscle towards her. She was frozen to the spot in fear of what might happen to Josephine if she so much as twitched a muscle.

"We'll be waiting," the masked man finished ominously, melting back into the shadows, taking Josephine with him.

There was silence for a moment or two, before Shannon brain unfroze itself.

"Mom!" she screamed, dashing forwards to where Kakuzu had been standing moments before. "No! Mom!"

Before she could break out of the protective circle of light, Shannon was grabbed from behind and restrained by a strong pair of arms encircling her shoulders. She struggled wildly, tears streaming down her face. "No! Let me go! MOM!"

"Shannon! Calm down!" Shikamaru's worried voice sounded close to her ear.

"They have my mother!" she cried, thrashing about, trying to get out of his grip. "I can't just let them take her!"

But the Konoha nin wasn't having it. He tightened his grip, holding her tight against him. Eventually, Shannon's wild struggles died down to weak thrashes and jerks and eventually stopped altogether.

She choked out a defeated sob and collapsed, Shikamaru still holding her. He bit his lip, guilt stabbing him in the gut. He could imagine the torment Shannon must have been going through, not being able to help someone she held dear to her. He knew first-hand how terrible it felt, how utterly soul-destroying it was.

But the only thing he could do now was comfort the shivering girl in his arms and pray they found a way to get both Shannon and her mother to safety.

But by the looks of things, chances were slim of that happening.

**Just a friendly reminder to review for chapter 13 :3**


	13. Chapter 13

**Shalom Chaverim! :D**

**The last chapter was a bit cliffy, wasn't it? ;) I'm cruel, I know :P **

**I have to keep you coming back **_**somehow**_** XD**

**NotAStalker – a review, no matter how long, is still a review, and is still greatly appreciated :D don't worry, something dramatic is definitely on the cards here ;)**

**Moonlttiger – thanks for reading and reviewing :D we might just see the Demon of the Mist soon…I'm a major Zabuza fan girl! *o* **

**MidnightheartXxX – Bingo! :D and thanks, I think they're pretty cute too :3**

****Chapter 13****

To say Shannon was panicked was an understatement. She was absolutely _hysterical_.

The sun was just starting to break over the horizon, and had yet to eliminate any lingering patches of darkness that could be hiding Creatures, but all she wanted to do was go after Kakuzu and her mother. It was all Shikamaru could do to keep her restrained with his Shadow Imitation jutsu, but even then she was extremely close to breaking free.

"Shika! Let me _out_ of this thing!" Shannon shouted, managing to thrash about despite the binding hold his jutsu had on her. "I need to get to my mother!"

Shikamaru sighed ruefully and shook his head. She had been screaming like this for the past two hours. As much as it pained him to see her in such distress, he knew he couldn't release her. She would be Creature food in a matter of seconds. And it was useless trying to reason with her. She wasn't listening to anyone, blinded by panic and desperation.

Hinata, Naruto, Lee and Sakura had left about half an hour ago to scout the area and make sure none of the other Akatsuki members were still in the vicinity, waiting to ambush them or something.

Shannon's civilian friends were sitting close by her, but not too close in case she lashed out at them without realizing it. Shikamaru thought they were just as frightened by her volatile mood as he was, though he would never admit it. Kiba was curled up in Ashley's lap, positively petrified of Shannon at the moment.

Shannon let out a frustrated growl and resumed her mental struggle against the shadow bonds. The more she struggled, the more she found she couldn't move and the more irate she became. An uncomfortable feeling of dread settled in Shikamaru's stomach when he saw shadowy tendrils flicker around Shannon's form, like wisps of inky smoke.

They began to solidify the angrier Shannon became, and Shikamaru knew this would not end well.

_What a drag,_ he thought, swallowing nervously.

Before the shadow tendrils could form into the spikes they had seen during Shannon's battle with Hidan, Sasuke rose to his feet and walked briskly over to the seething girl. Shikamaru could only watch in horror as the black haired Uchiha smacked her over the back of the head, almost like he would do to Naruto.

"Will you calm down?" he hissed, glaring at her.

Almost immediately, much to the other's surprise, the tendrils of shadow retreated back into Shannon's shaking body. She returned Sasuke's glare with the same – if not more – fire, but otherwise stayed silent.

When Shannon said nothing in response, Sasuke went on scoldingly, "You can't expect us to go running after an Akatsuki member with no attack plan! This is a _team_. Teams think things through – _together_! I get the fact that you're worried for your mother's well-being, but what good would it do all of us if we walked straight into a trap and they were just using her as bait? Did you ever think of _that?_"

Shannon's struggles had ceased, but her body was still tense, and her expression beyond miffed. She remained silent.

Sasuke's glare morphed into a stony look, almost akin to one a person would give when disciplining a delinquent child. "The Akatsuki are not to be taken lightly, Shannon. They will use whatever means necessary to get what they want. We need to come up with a plan _together_. We will do our best to get your mother back, but we can't just rush into this blindly like Genin."

Shannon's shoulders fell, and she slumped to the ground as Sasuke's words sunk in. She hung her head in a mixture of defeat and shame. He was right. Had she not given him a lecture herself on being part of a team and thinking of the others? She was being selfish. She couldn't expect the rest of the squad to rush into what was most certainly a trap in the blind hope of finding and rescuing her mother when that wasn't even their priority in the first place. Hell, she had been training with Lee for so long for the _purpose_ of not having to have the others always protecting her and putting their lives on the line for her sake.

Shikamaru, seeing her weakened state of resolve, tentatively released his jutsu. Shannon slumped further down, but otherwise made no move to rise. Her head was still hung low, her sloppily-chopped hair hiding her face from view. He felt a twitch of guilt in his gut, but he knew Sasuke was right. She needed to be rational, and a harsh talking-to was the only way to bring her out of her panic-induced rage.

"Get a grip, and start acting like a valid member of this team," Sasuke said, turning his back on her and stalking away.

Shikamaru couldn't be sure, but he thought he heard a tiny amount of sympathy lace the Uchiha's tone.

…

Shikamaru, Sai, Sasuke, Ashley, Luke, Justin, Carli, Ashley and Shannon met up with Hinata, Sakura, Naruto and Lee a little while later, when the sun was burning high in the sky and no darkness lingered. Shikamaru squinted at the horizon. He could see storm clouds rolling towards them, and heard the distant boom of thunder.

"Troublesome…" he mumbled under his breath. The _last_ thing they needed now was a thunderstorm, especially when they were so ill-equipped for the more extreme of the elements.

He glanced over at Shannon and sighed. She had remained silent and detached since her spat was Sasuke, much like the last time they had argued. Although this time, Shikamaru thought she was mentally berating herself more than anything else.

Kiba, having noticed that his mistress' mood was less deadly than before, poked his head out of the hole in her backpack, panting as he relished the feel of the warm sunshine on his furry head.

Shikamaru saw Shannon glance over her shoulder at the puppy and a small smile tug at the corner of her lips. He smiled as well. That dog always seemed to turn her mood around. He was actually kind of glad Shannon had brought the little furball with.

Just like he had done a few days ago, Shikamaru took hold of Shannon's hand reassuringly. She glanced up at him questioningly and he just shrugged.

"Don't worry about it. We'll figure something out soon," he said, a small smile breaking out of his façade of indifference.

Shannon looked away, but not before he saw her smile widen just a fraction.

…

A few hours later, the storm broke. The team had hurriedly constructed a make-shift tent out of an old tarp someone had found lying around by lashing the loose ends around a few telephone poles. It wasn't a very large tent, but it was keeping them moderately dry. All twelve of them were squished together like sardines, trying their best to keep out of the driving rain and howling wind.

The gale was battering the tarp, making it shake like it wanted to break free and fly away at any given moment. Shikamaru shivered, stroking Kiba's head as they puppy whined pitifully. A thought suddenly struck him – Kiba would usually be with Shannon when he was this frightened. Shikamaru scanned the occupants of the tent quickly, but only counted eleven heads. He had definitely seen her in the tent when the storm had started…

Something caught Shikamaru's attention out of the corner of his eye – a section of the tent was loose, flapping wildly in the wind. Cursing under his breath, the brunette connected the dots and pushed his way out of the tent and into the driving rain, ignoring the shouts of protests from the others.

He should have known she would try something like this – try heading out on her own with the hope that none of the others would notice and try and stop her. So none of them would even realize she was gone. So they wouldn't put their lives on the line to help her.

Shikamaru cursed again, loudly, shielding his eyes from the pounding rain. It was heading into sunset, and light was dwindling fast. If he didn't find her and get her back to the tent before darkness fell…Shikamaru didn't want to think about what would happen.

He searched wildly through the storm, trying to find any trace of the path Shannon had taken. She couldn't have gotten very far in the amount of time it had taken him to notice she was missing.

He finally spotted her – stumbling blindly through the storm, clambering over large blocks of rubble, battered by rain and wind. She was making her way back from where they had come. To the other side of the city.

Shikamaru broke into an uncharacteristic sprint. He had to reach her before she got too far…

Up ahead, Shannon choked back another sob as she grazed her already raw hands on another slippery concrete boulder. She felt wretched about slipping away from the others, but she had to get her mother back. And she wouldn't let any of them be endangered for something that was solely her responsibility. Her mind kept flashing back to the time Shikamaru had protected her against Deidara. She gritted her teeth and wiped more rain water from her eyes. It had taken Shika weeks to heal from those injuries. _Weeks._ She wouldn't let something like that happen again. Especially not to him, especially not because of her.

Her whole body was shaking from the cold, and the rain felt like needles driving into her numb skin. Her shoulder-length hair was plastered to her face and neck, and she was past the point of trying to figure out whether the moisture in her eyes was rainwater or tears.

She heard her name being called out from behind her, but she didn't stop, even when she recognized the voice. She couldn't let them help her. She wouldn't let them get hurt again, especially not him. Shannon tried to move faster, but her limbs were sluggish and frozen. She blinked more rainwater out of her eyes, holding in another sob. The pounding footsteps behind her grew steadily louder.

Something warm grabbed onto her from behind. Strong arms wrapped themselves around her waist, stopping her in her tracks. The sob she had been keeping down for so long broke out, and Shannon sank to her knees, clinging to the hands that held her.

Shikamaru could literally feel the inner pain she was in, and he held her tight to him, his face buried in the crook of her neck. His gut twisted painfully when he felt her sobbing. All of a sudden, the pounding rain and screaming wind didn't matter. The broken girl in his arms needed him, and he'd be there till the very end.

**Soppy ending, I know :/**

**I realized something halfway through this chapter. I almost forgot about Kiba. Almost :/ poor little thing, deserves better than that…**

**This chapter was sort of inspired by Leave Out All The Rest by Linkin Park…that songs gets me every time :'(**

**Anywho…things should be a lot less depressing in the next chapter…but you'll only find out if you review ;D**


	14. Chapter 14

**You guys are too good to me X'D**

**Moonlttiger – haha, cliffy endings make sure people come back for more…they're sort of like drugs – unhealthy, but once you start, you can't stop lol XD as long as people like you keep giving splendid reviews, I'll update as often as is physically possible!**

**MidnightheartXxX – I don't really think Sasuke has the capacity for any soft-ish emotions, so that sort of is as gentle as he'd ever be with Shannon…also, he doesn't really know how to interact with the poor child, I think she intimidates him a little XD**

**There's a poll on my profile, so if you guys have any spare time, please visit and vote! :D**

****Chapter fourteen****

After Shikamaru got both himself and Shannon back to the make-shift tent, the rain died down to a misty drizzle, almost as if it was in sync with their moods. Shannon just seemed…tired and defeated. Shikamaru just held her, offering silent comfort and letting her know that he was still there.

The others didn't ask what had happened outside of the tent, although Shikamaru could see the curiosity burning in their eyes. Ashley seemed to understand what Shannon was going through just by looking at her, and held her hand as the brown-haired girl sat silently between her and the Konoha nin.

Shannon's normally bright green eyes were dulled and downcast, her hair hanging in stringy wet strands all over her face. Her expression was blank, but every now and then Shikamaru caught sight of her lip trembling, though she tried valiantly to hide the fact.

Darkness had just fallen, the sun having finally sunk below the horizon. Everyone shivered as the cold set in. Shikamaru, drenched from head to toe from the rain, shook violently against his better judgment. He felt Shannon shift beside him.

She laced her arms around his torso and laid her head on his shoulder, offering her meager body heat to keep him warm. It was her fault that he was in this state, after all.

Shikamaru returned the gesture, his grip encircling her trembling shoulder. He rested his head atop hers and sighed. He was just glad that she was showing some sort of humanity, and not sitting around like a comatose vegetable.

The other's soon settled down to get whatever rest they could before the morning. Shikamaru rested against one of the telephone poles supporting their 'tent', Shannon lying against his chest.

"Just try and get some sleep," he told her quietly. "We'll figure something out tomorrow. I promise."

Shannon merely nodded her head and closed her eyes. Shikamaru prayed fervently that it was a promise he could keep.

…

The next morning was cold and damp, but at least the clouds had dissipated and then sun was shining. The squad quickly took down their make-shift tent and had a quick breakfast of their last stale bread loaves and musty-tasting water.

Shannon seemed to be in marginally brighter spirits. She had been thinking a lot the previous night, and had come up with a sort of plan for what she could do about her mother. Some of the usual determination and fire had leaked back into her eyes.

"Okay, so what do we do now?" Naruto asked as he sat back on his haunches, looking around the group of people assembled around him expectantly.

"First of all, we need to assess our situation," Sakura ran a hand over her face, trying to rid herself of the tiredness that plagued her mind. She looked at their meager belongings in the middle of their little circle and sighed. "We definitely need more food and water, or we won't last another two days out here."

"I'm with Sakura on this one," Sasuke agreed, standing with his hands in his pockets. "Here's what I think we should do – we each divide into four teams of three and scout the city for food, water, and whatever other resources we can find."

He waited for the others to nod their consent before he continued. "Each team should have at least one shinobi, in case of trouble." He paused and looked at the tall buildings surrounding them, squinting at the sun. "We won't go very far. Each team should take a separate direction and follow it for about a kilometer or two, and then head back to meet at this spot by noon. Agreed?"

More nods and a few murmurs of agreement. Sasuke nodded his head and picked up his pack, slinging it over his shoulder.

"I suggest we get moving."

…

Ten minutes later, Shannon, Ashley and Shikamaru were picking their way around the ruined city, searching for any food and water. Kiba yapped at Shannon's heels, and she looked down at the puppy, smiling slightly. She scooped the excitable ball of fur into her arms and scratched him fondly behind the ear. No matter what mood she was in, Kiba had a knack for making her instantly feel better.

"I see you're finally in a better mood," Ashley joked, nudging her friend in the ribs playfully.

Shannon smiled back at her, pulling a face and depositing Kiba in her backpack as she climbed over a fallen billboard. "I figured that it wouldn't help anything if I just sat around and moped the whole day. My mom's not just gonna suddenly appear of her own accord, and I won't be much help forming a plan if I sit in a corner feeling sorry for myself the whole time."

"Wise words, little one," Ashley chuckled, rubbing her knuckles over the top of the shorter girl's head.

"Hey! Cut that out!" Shannon chuckled, shoving Ashley's hand away. She realized that had been the first time in what seemed like ages that she had actually cracked a genuine smile.

Ashley laughed and dropped her hand back to her side, smiling at Shannon's change in mood. She hated seeing her best friend so down in the dumps.

Shannon glanced ahead to Shikamaru, who was walking a couple of meters in front of them, scouting the area for any threats as they went. Her grin softened to a thoughtful smile and she lowered her gaze, focusing on the ruptured ground she made her way over.

She thought back over the past couple of days – Shikamaru had been looking out for her a lot. He was always there when she needed him…and Shannon enjoyed the fact that she was the only one he smiled for. And though she would never admit it to him for fear of increasing his ego, she got shivers every time he held her hand.

Whether she wanted to acknowledge it or not, she was crushing over the brown-haired Konoha nin.

Shannon was suddenly snapped out of her reverie by the clatter of pebbles behind her. She whipped around, scanning the gutted buildings for any sign of what had made the noise.

"See anything?" Ashley asked her, tense, eyes darting all over the place.

Shannon shook her head, frowning. "Nah, nothing…"

Barely a split second after she uttered her response, something swooped down from above them, hissing loudly. Both Ashley and Shannon cried out, dropping to the ground as whatever was attacking them swooped past. There was a sound of sharp talons scraping over concrete as whatever it was alighted on a jutting ledge from a building across the street.

Shannon raised her head cautiously, searching wide-eyed for whatever had dive-bombed her and Ashley. She was aware of Shikamaru behind her as she laid eyes on the creature that had spooked them.

It looked human, male, but with large leathery wings and a long forked tail whipping out behind it. The only clothing it wore was a ragged pair of ripped jeans. Its fingers and toes ended in wickedly sharp claws that dug into the framework of the building the creature perched upon. A pair of long, curved horns stuck out of a wild mop of black hair.

"You'd be wise to be careful of what you refer to as 'nothing'," the winged creature snarled. Its voice was low and guttural, eyes burning with angry red flames.

Shannon's heart plummeted when she realized what the humanoid creature actually was.

"D-demons," she breathed, her heart beating frantically.

The demon chuckled darkly. "Smart girl," it sneered, grinning to reveal a set of pointed, needle-like teeth.

Both Shannon and Ashley's breathing became shallow with fear. They knew all about demons from Josephine's stash of old folk lore books she had kept at the back of the shop. These were Hell's elite, the most ruthless and corrupted of souls. The most dangerous adversary one could ever face off against.

"I haven't seen such a tasty-looking meal come around this end in a long time," the demon purred, flashing the three humans another hungry grin. "All the others were so thin, not even worth the effort."

Before any of them could even twitch an eyelid, the demon was moving again, shooting through the air like a winged bullet. Shannon's eyes widened a fraction before she shoved Ashley out the way, but the demon wasn't after either of them. He was going for the largest member of their group – Shikamaru.

"Shika!" Shannon shouted as the demon slammed into the brunette ninja, effectively knocking him clean off his feet. She dropped her backpack to the ground, with a shivering Kiba inside it, and ran to assist her comrade.

The black-haired devil did a sharp turn in midair and made another line towards Shikamaru, talons outstretched. Shikamaru was in no position to defend himself, still winded by the surprise attack. Shannon could only see his battle with Deidara replaying itself in her mind's eye.

No. she couldn't let him get hurt like that again. She wouldn't. And this demon…it wasn't anything like Deidara. This thing would kill him.

The demon saw her running towards his prey and snarled, changing direction abruptly and speeding towards her instead. Shannon gritted her teeth and kept running. She had to keep that thing away from Shikamaru at all costs.

"Shannon! What are you doing?" she heard Ashley scream behind her, but she kept running.

She could feel the tendrils of darkness inside her awaken and come to the surface. It seemed she could only call them when she was experiencing some extreme emotion, like fear or anger. With a throaty snarl, Shannon thrust her shadow projectiles forward, like a flood of deadly spears. The demon's eyes widened at the unexpected attack and it snapped its wings out to brake harshly.

But it was too slow. The shadow spikes slammed into the demon's body, piercing its flesh and ripping into its wings. The demon screamed in pain, trying to detach itself from the writhing cords of shadow. But Shannon wasn't done with it yet. She skidded to a halt, focusing on controlling her shadows. She would make sure this demon didn't take any more innocent lives.

The shadows formed themselves into something resembling a whole army of fishing hooks, and Shannon yanked them back towards her. The demon cried out again as the spikes sank deep into its flesh, embedding themselves in its bleeding body.

Shannon's mind seemed to switch off, almost like she was giving herself over to instinct and throwing rational thought out the window. Her conscience, inhibitions, humanity…it all vanished the moment she looked into those evil red eyes. All she wanted to do was kill it. Kill the demon that had killed so many others. Rip it to shreds. Completely and utterly destroy it.

A few yards away, Shikamaru pushed himself to his feet after having regained his breath. He cursed himself for not seeing that attack and leaving Shannon and Ashley defenseless while he was lying winded on the ground.

He heard Ashley scream, and his head shot up to see something he had never thought he'd see.

Shannon had the demon on the ground, covered in her shadow spikes like a gruesome pin-cushion. It screamed and thrashed, but she refused to remove the dark tendrils. Even from so far away from her, Shikamaru could still see the killing intent in Shannon's eyes. It chilled him to the core. He had never seen such a blood-thirsty look in her eyes before. It was cold, predatory. She wanted to destroy everything the demon was, reduce it to ashes.

And suddenly he was running towards her. This wasn't the Shannon he knew. She was compassionate, kind, caring…not this soulless monster intent on destruction. He had to stop her before she was in too deep. Before the Shannon he cared about was lost beneath the surface.

"Shannon! Stop!" he called out, reaching her side in a matter of moments.

But she didn't seem like she had heard him at all. Her shadow hooks ripped savagely into the screaming demon's body, like they were about to rend it apart. And her eyes…Shikamaru shivered. He had never seen such a cold look in her eyes before.

"Shannon!" he shook her shoulders roughly, trying to snap her out of whatever trance she had fallen into. "Snap out of it! This isn't you!"

Shannon turned her icy gaze to him, and for a split second, Shikamaru felt genuinely fearful of her. It felt for a second that she would turn her shadow tendrils on him. But then a shadow or recognition flickered over her face, and her expression changed.

She blinked slowly, like she was coming out of a deep sleep. She looked at him questioningly, and then slowly became aware of the fact that her shadow tendrils were still extended. Shannon looked over at the bleeding demon and gasped, jerking in shock. The bloodied shadow apparitions shot back into her body, leaving the demon writhing and bleeding on the ground.

Her eyes widened to the size of saucers, and Shannon clapped a hand over her mouth. She had really been about to kill that demon…she had almost taken a life. This wasn't her. She would never have done something like that.

She had never felt that way before, so cold, so bloodthirsty. She was shaken to the core. Shikamaru shook her shoulder softly. She turned to look at him. His expression was relieved.

_Probably relieved that I didn't turn into some murdering monster_, she couldn't help but think.

"I think we should leave," he said as Ashley stumbled over to them, clutching Shannon's pack and Kiba in her arms. "The others will be waiting back at the meeting point."

Shannon nodded numbly, letting Shikamaru lead her away from the twitching demon behind them. All of a sudden, she wanted to run. Run from what she had done, and what she had almost been about to do. She felt cold. She didn't know what this new side of her was, or where it had come from. She had certainly never felt like that before. Never before had such killing intent taken over her every thought like that.

Shannon shivered. She knew those homicidal thoughts had something to do with her newfound abilities. If that was how they made her feel every time she had to use them, whether it was to protect herself or the others, then she wanted nothing to do with them.

She wouldn't become a murderer.

**You all know the drill ;D**


	15. Chapter 15

**Well hellooooo there… ;D**

**Damn, I think I've watched the Rocky Horror Picture Show one too many times…meh *shrugs***

**Mindless meanderings aside, welcome to chapter 15! :D can't believe I'm already this far along…**

**Moonlttiger – it's a vicious cycle, but one we all fall prey to -_-' and very observant! *awards cookie* that whole arc will be explained later… ;)**

**Back to the action!**

**(And just a small side note – please visit my profile and vote on the poll I posted :) kthanksbye)**

****Chapter fifteen****

"So you went up against a…demon?"

Shannon sighed at the disbelief in Sasuke's voice. He hardly ever believed a thing she told him.

"What a demon?" Naruto asked, sitting cross-legged on the ground of their meeting spot.

"It's an evil spirit in the form of a human-like body," Ashley tried to explain, bot for once, words seemed to fail her.

"They crave death and destruction," Shannon provided, nodding with her red-haired friend.

Naruto scrunched up his face in thought. The information finally seemed to sink in and his blue eyes opened a fraction wider. "Oh! I get it! So they're like Zabuza?"

"Eh…not really…" Shannon deadpanned, scratching the back of her head. "He's called the Demon of the Mist, but he isn't a real demon."

"Hmm…" the confused expression settled back onto the blonde's face as he sank deep in thought again.

"I don't think it really matters _what_ they are, but more like how we avoid them, seeing as there are likely to be more than just one running around out there," Sai piped up, arms folded as he leaned against the gutted wreckage of a high-rise building. "From what Shikamaru's told us, they seem to be very powerful opponents."

Shannon nodded, but otherwise kept silent. She was just glad Shikamaru had omitted the exact details of her little…fight with the demon they had come up against. She wasn't exactly comfortable with the way she had acted herself. She didn't want any of the others she had come to view as friends ostracizing her out of fear that she might snap.

"Do you know if they have any weaknesses?" Lee directed his question at Shannon, his bushy eyebrows scrunched together in a frown.

"I'm not exactly sure…" Shannon mumbled, looking down at the dusty ground.

"But you yourself went up against one. Surely you must have noticed some weakness?" Lee persisted.

"Yeah, Bushybrows is right," Naruto agreed loudly. "There as to be some way to take them down."

Shannon sighed and shook her head. "It just sort of flew away before the fight could really get started. I didn't notice anything useful."

"I suppose we'll just have to take our chances then," Sasuke said, his expression thoughtful. "I'm sure we'd be able to figure out a way to deal with these…demons…once we actually come face to face with them." His expression turned serious and he directed a probing look at Shannon. "But at the moment…we have other things to think about."

Shannon nodded solemnly in agreement. "I was thinking about what we should do…I think I may have a plan."

…

Needless to say, Ashley and the others were none too pleased with Shannon's plan.

She had been trying to convince them to go along with it for the best part of two and a half hours, but they weren't having any of it.

"You can't expect us to just up and leave now!" Ashley protested, scowling. "We couldn't leave you when you need us most! Never mind the fact that we would be worried sick about what would be happening to you when we wouldn't be there to help!"

"I'll be fine!" Shannon tried to reason with the livid red-head. "I'll have Shikamaru and Lee with me, what could possibly happen to me with them around?"

"A lot!"

"Ashley!" Shannon had to shout to get her friend to listen to her. "I'll be fine! I just can't run the risk of anything happening to you – this is too dangerous for you guys."

"But…" Ashley let out a defeated half-sob. "We just found each other! I can't let you go now – who knows if we'll ever see you again?"

Shannon's expression softened and she lay a hand on Ashley's trembling shoulder. "I kept my promise last time. I'll find you again, you know I will."

Ashley sucked in a shaky breath and shot her best friend a fiery glare. "I swear to whatever god you believe in, Shannon, if you don't keep that promise, I'll hunt you down and kill you myself."

And with that, Ashley spun on her heel and stalked off to where Justin, Luke and Carli were waiting. She didn't look back once.

Shannon chuckled as she watched the four of them make their way deeper into the city, to where they thought they would eventually find sanctuary. Ashley had never been one for soppy goodbyes.

…

As Shannon and the team of Konoha nin made their way to the place Kakuzu had specified, she mused over the rest of her plan. After sending the civilians on their way to make sure they couldn't be used as hostages or put in harms' way, Shannon and the ninjas would arrive at the trading point under the pretense of Shannon giving herself up for her mother.

Shannon would only appear with Lee, Sasuke and Sakura at her side, and the others would be hiding in the wings, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Shannon knew Kakuzu would pick up that there were considerably less people than before, and would scout the area for any sign of a trap.

Shikamaru would quietly dispatch him using one of his shadow techniques, and Naruto would make a shadow clone of him to rejoin the Akatsuki and avoid rousing suspicion.

Now obviously Kakuzu would have been the one keeping Josephine captive, so Naruto's shadow clone would retake possession of her after the fake Kakuzu returned from scouting the area. Sasuke would have his Sharingan activated the entire time to analyze the Akatsuki and Hinata would have her Byakugan activated from her hiding place to make sure they didn't try anything underhanded. If they did, she, Naruto, Shikamaru, Sai and various ink creatures Sai had created would spring to their defense.

The plan would be for Sasuke and Lee to suddenly spring into attack, catching the Akatsuki off guard when they thought they were in fact there to surrender. In the confusion, Naruto's shadow clone would slip away with Josephine and rejoin the others at a place of safety. Sasuke, Sakura, Lee and Shannon would then rapidly retreat to the rest of their squad, hopefully leaving the Akatsuki in the dust with neither their target nor their hostage.

Shannon swallowed nervously. She knew that strategies seldom went as planned.

**Sorry about the cliffhanger…like I said before, they're like drugs in some respects…**

**But the official reason is that I don't want the chapter to be too long and confusing, so I'm breaking it down into shorter chapters :D**

**Now you really have incentive to review ;D**


	16. Chapter 16

**Howzit peeps :D**

**This chapter we get to see some more action before they get to face off with the Akatsuki :D the demons make a comeback too :P**

**My usual shout-outs:**

**Moonlttiger – nah, I'm not a sadist like that XD and if people want longer chapter then I'll give them longer ones! :D you've only to ask - I aim to please ;)**

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****Chapter sixteen****

It was the second day of their travels to the other side of the decimated city. Shannon was letting Sasuke lead the group while she trailed along at the back, deep in thought. She couldn't help but wonder if what she was doing was the right thing – letting the ninja help her recover her mother. She wasn't their priority, and Shannon felt guilty about putting them in such a dangerous situation. The Akatsuki were very powerful opponents; not to be taken lightly.

There was no guarantee that her plan would even work.

"Why the long face?" Shannon was shaken from her thoughts by Shikamaru's voice. He and Lee had dropped back to walk on either side of her.

She smiled slightly, shaking her head. "It's nothing," she replied. "I'm just thinking if this whole plan will work anyway."

"The Power of Youth will guide our path!" Lee announced, raising a fist to the heavens. "We will not fail!"

Shannon chuckled and the brunette ninja beside her smiled. Kiba yipped at their heels, panting in the heat of the midday sun. Shannon looked down at the puppy for a moment or two. She could hardly call him a puppy anymore – in the past few weeks or so, he had grown quite a bit. His legs had grown longer, his fur lightened, his muzzle lengthened and his teeth were larger and sharper than before. His head now reached Shannon's hip.

Her smile turned melancholy as Shannon stroked Kiba's head affectionately.

"You'll look after him when I'm there?" she didn't trust herself to meet Shikamaru's eyes as she directed her question at him. She didn't want to see anyone else's fear. It would make her feel even worse about the whole situation.

Shikamaru gripped her hand reassuringly. "He'll hate me until you get back, so you'd better get this done quick."

Shannon chuckled at his joke and squeezed his hand in return. "Thanks Shika," she said quietly.

"No need to thank me," he replied. "It's all up to you now."

"I know," Shannon grimaced. "That's what I'm worried about."

…

The sun began to set that evening, and the squad decided to set up camp for the night. Shannon had her back against her pack as she leaned on it, looking intently at a kunai she had managed to get from Hinata. The flickering light of their small fire reflected off the polished surface of the weapon, making it gleam.

Shannon heard a ruckus behind her, but she made no move to see what it was. During the twilight of the fading day, she had a pretty good idea who was behind her.

"I thought I told you to go with the others," she said with an exasperated sigh as Ashley stumbled into the pool of light.

"And let you have all the fun? Never," Ashley replied haughtily, straightening her tattered denim jacket. "And anyway, I'd feel safer with you guys."

Ashley paused a second, her gaze scanning the group or resting Konoha nin - none of whom seemed too surprised to see her - before settling on Sai, who was sleeping at the opposite end of the fire. "Much safer, with all these…_strong_ ninja around to protect me."

Shannon looked up from her weapon, caught Ashley's perverted smirk and followed her gaze over to an oblivious Sai. She laughed loudly. "Only you, Ash. Only you. What is it with you and the weirdoes?"

Ashley shrugged and winked jokingly at her best friend. "I can't help myself. Psychopaths just drive me crazy."

Shannon chuckled as Ashley flopped down next to her. "You know, I sort of had a feeling you'd come after us."

The redhead shrugged. "What kind of best friend would I be if I just left you to face your demons alone?"

Shannon just snorted, turning her attention back to the kunai in her hands. She felt her stomach sink a little as her doubts returned. What if she couldn't pull the plan off and the Akatsuki defeated them? Then what?

Ashley noticed her friend's mood change and threw an arm around her shoulders, rubbing her arm comfortingly. "Nothing will go wrong, Shan. You have a skilled bunch of people here. Nothing could _possibly_ go wrong."

"I hope you're right, Ash," Shannon whispered, leaning her head on Ashley's shoulder. "I really hope so."

…

Shannon had a really bad feeling when the group started off again the next morning. A nagging suspicion in the back of her mind that _something_ was going to go wrong.

They were walking through what used to be the financial district – Shannon remembered there being tall modern buildings of glass and steel. She used to love driving through that section of the city. Now, all the glass lay broken and shattered over the ground, and the steel frames of the buildings were twisted and blackened.

The only sound the group of nine made on their way was the constant crunch of their boots on gravel and shards of glass as they walked. Shannon kept glancing around nervously, the horrid feeling in her stomach only intensifying.

"What's the matter?" Hinata asked as she walked next to the nervous brunette. "You seem uneasy."

"It's probably nothing…" Shannon muttered, her gaze flickering from one ruined building to the next. "I just had a really bad feeling about something…"

"A woman's intuition rarely ever lies," Ashley tried to joke, but Shannon could hear the seriousness in her words. Whatever it was, she could feel it too.

Frowning, Hinata tried broadening her senses to try and understand what the other two girls were apparently sensing. Her lilac eyes widened when she picked up a new energy source. _Multiple_ new energy sources, unlike anything she had felt before.

Naruto, who had been walking next to Hinata, noticed her stiffen. "Hinata? What is it?"

But before she could answer, their attention was suddenly drawn to the clatter of pebbles hitting the ground and shards of glass falling from cracked panes.

Shannon and the rest of the group slowly turned around to face the source of the noise. The feeling of unease intensified in her stomach to the point where she felt physically ill. Ashley gasped when a gang of about seven demons appeared before them, stationed on various jutting metal ledges from the ruins of an old bank.

"Those, Naruto, are demons," Sasuke told his horrified blonde companion, his expression grim.

Ashley, Shikamaru and Shannon were vividly reminded of their last encounter with a demon. Needless to say, they weren't exactly ecstatic of the prospect of taking one on again. Especially since there was not _one, _but _six _of the hellish fiends.

Shannon swore profusely, her fists clenching as she glared at the mocking monsters leering at the Konoha squad.

"No need for such language, girl," one of the demons sniggered, his red eyes narrowing as his sharp grin broadened.

Shannon gritted her teeth, but otherwise kept her mouth shut. All she needed right now was a ticked-off demon to deal with. Sakura growled and drew a kunai, holding it at the ready.

"No weapons, pretty girl!" Sakura cried out as one of the assembled demons suddenly appeared in front of her, grabbing her wrist and disarming her of the weapon. It grinned evilly, running a long forked tongue over its knife-sharp teeth.

"Let go of her!" Naruto roared, launching himself at the taller creature.

As if on cue, the rest of the demons swooped in for the attack.

Shannon ducked, shoving Ashley down to the ground with her as a demon with silver claws came rocketing down towards them. Shannon could feel the shadows awaken beneath her skin, the adrenaline coursing through her veins urging them to fight. She panicked, shoving them down to whatever recess of her subconscious they resided it. She wouldn't become that heartless killer again. That wasn't who she was.

There was a loud cry of pain behind her as one of the hellish creatures sent Lee smashing into a pile of rubble. Sakura was soon to follow. Naruto roared a battle cry as he charged the offending demon, already creating multiple shadow clones as he ran. Shannon could only watch helplessly as each of the clones dissipated under the demon's crushing blows and Naruto was swatted away like a fly.

Shannon shook her head roughly. She wouldn't be helpless. She had been training for a reason. She gritted her teeth and jumped to her feet, her eyes narrowed in determination. Time to put that training to use.

She let out a harsh battle cry of her own as she charged the demon that had incapacitated three of her comrades already. It turned to look at her with an amused expression, blocking her punch with one hand. Its other hand came around and smacked her hard across the head, knocking her sideways. Shannon hit the ground, skinning the palms of her hands on the shards of shattered glass littering the floor.

She rolled quickly out of the way as the demon's cleaver-like tail came crashing down on the spot she had been in mere moments earlier. Shannon jumped to her feet, readying herself for the next attack. All around her, she could hear the shouts of both her comrades and enemies alike, all mingling together in one great cacophony of noise.

She cut the noise out and focused on the demon stalking towards her, a predatory look in its burning crimson eyes. The shadow tendrils threatened to break out once again, and Shannon had to force them back down. Then demon took advantage of her distraction and launched itself at the brunette girl. Its elbow connected solidly with her midsection, driving the breath from her lungs and slamming her into a concrete pillar.

Shannon slid to the ground, coughing weakly. That moment was all it took for her mental blockades to come crashing down and the shadow tendrils to burst into action, blocking the demon's next attack. They wrapped around its wrist and jerked its arm away from her head, snapping the demon's elbow with a loud cracking sound.

The creature cried out and stumbled away, clutching its dislocated arm. It glared at Shannon venomously as she lay panting against the pillar, her shadow tendrils writhing around her form like black smoke.

"You!" it breathed, a savage snarl contorting its features. "I know about you…you're the one who took Aios out!" the demon's snarl morphed into a vicious smirk. "The half-demon."

"Half-demon?" Shannon growled, pushing herself to her feet. "I have no clue what you're going on about."

She was becoming aware of the fact that the killing intent was slowly taking over her mind. All she wanted to do was tear the wretched demon in front of her to pieces. Shannon snarled, shoving the traitorous thought to the back of her mind. She could control this. She _would_ control this.

Suddenly, another one of the demons came careening out of nowhere, slamming forcefully into Shannon's opponent. The two creatures landed in a tangle of arms, legs and wings against the wreckage of a highway on-ramp. Shannon snapped her head in the direction where the demon had come from, and saw Shikamaru panting in an attack stance. It looked as though he had thrown the demon all that way by himself.

"Shika…" Shannon's eyes widened when she met his intense gaze.

"Don't let those get the better of you, Shannon," he said, breathing heavily as he motioned to her shadow appendages. "You're far stronger than that."

Before Shannon could decipher his words or reply, there was another cry behind them. Shannon gaped in horror as Sasuke – Sasuke, the greatest fighter of the group – was thrown like a rag doll across the street and into a large boulder. The demon he was fighting was on him in a second, driving the Uchiha into the solid rock. Sasuke cried out again, blood flying from his mouth.

Shannon's mind seemed to shrink away from the conflict. Her consciousness couldn't handle it. She suddenly found herself looking at the scene like she was a mere spectator at a theatre.

Hinata was floored by a vicious uppercut, the demon slamming a talons foot down on her back. She cried out and was still. Sai was trying to fend off two other demons with his ink creatures, but they were swatted away like gnats. One of the demons droves a knife-like tail into the ROOT member's shoulder, rendering his left arm useless. Another jab to the side had Sai down for the count. Ashley was unmoving on the ground next to him.

And then all four of the remaining demons turned on the two standing humans. One of them – a demon with three eyes and a club-like tail – launched itself at Shikamaru before he or Shannon could even blink. Shikamaru didn't even have time to shout out before he was viciously clubbed in the stomach and smashes into the ground.

He didn't move.

Shannon's fragile state of mind snapped. The killer instinct seized control of her mind. The flowing shadow tendrils around her darkened and grew longer. The four demons looked at her curiously.

_Half-demon_. The phrase kept floating around her mind like poison. She didn't care what she was, as long as she could kill these creatures that _dared_ hurt her companions. The demons made to attack her, but they didn't get far. Her shadows snapped out like whips, catching the hellish creatures around the midsections and twining themselves around their wrists and ankles, rendering the demons helpless.

"Wha-what is this?" one of the creatures snapped, trying to break free but with no success.

"This?" Shannon's voice was deadly calm. Icy. She tightened the shadows binding the four demons until they were being stretched out like toffee. "This is a little thing we humans like to call _revenge_. You might have heard of it where you spawned from."

The girl's expression was set in a firm scowl, her eyes hard, dancing with a fire of their own. The demons screamed as their joints began popping out of place, but Shannon didn't stop. She just increased the pressure.

Her heated gaze took in Shikamaru, unconscious in a depression in the ground. Hinata, in an unmoving heap a few meters away. Sakura, Lee and Naruto buried under a mountain of rubble. Sai and Ashley lying face-down on the ground. Kiba howling hysterically from his hiding place under the carcass of a train. And Sasuke propped up against a blackened building across from where she stood. His one eyes was cracked open, watching her. His breathing was ragged, his body battered and bloody. She could almost read the expression on his face – fear. Respect.

This wasn't the way it was meant to be. Sasuke was meant to be fighting. He was the strong one, not her. And yet here she stood, ripping these demons who _dared_ lay a hand on her precious companions limb from limb single-handedly. And she was enjoying it.

Some shred of her former self managed to surface, reminding Shannon that killing was _not_ something to be enjoyed, of all things. Then Shikamaru groaned, shifting weakly in the small crater he lay in. Shannon's inner killer repelled her conscience and she took one more look at the screaming demons in her clutches. Her glare hardened into a look of pure rage and she screamed insults at the vile creatures.

Her shadow appendages snapped taught. The demons screams were abruptly silenced.

**Reviews = chapter 17**

**And don't forget to vote on my poll! :3**


	17. Chapter 17

**The Badassery that is Shannon is back! :D**

**Thanks so much to my faithful reviewers :3 makes me all fuzzy inside when I see my number of comments continue to rise…**

**NotAStalker – welcome back! :D Shika's the best, isn't he? X3**

**MidnightheartXxX – she sure is badass, that's for sure! :D and the best thing is she can only improve her skills from here on out… XD**

**Moonlttiger – I LOVE it when people ask me questions :D now for some answers…**

**No, Shannon won't meet her father (we don't even know who the poor sod is yet, lol). I think I may need some help…if you have the number for Cliff Hangers Anonymous, let me know X3 **

**Shannon's powers won't stay this volatile for too long…she wants to be in control of them so she won't be liable to snap so easily…and possibly so she won't scare Sasuke too much lol…if you wanna see how she does that, guess you'll just have to read, now won't you? ;D**

**That much anticipated fight with the Akatsuki is one step closer…**

****Chapter seventeen****

_The writhing tendrils of black shadow sprouting from Shannon's quivering form tossed the bloody chunks of dismembered demon aside like garbage. She wasn't shaking from fear or anything of the sort – she was shaking from rage. Pure, unadulterated rage. The kind of rage that made her want to reduce whole buildings to dust with only her bare fists. _

_Her breaths were short and shallow as she tried to contain the blinding fury that boiled inside of her. Even her violent side didn't want to cause any more harm to her wounded companions. After a while, her conscious side broke free and surfaced, bringing with it the full realization of what she had done._

_Shannon's head snapped up, taking in the bloody limbs strewn around her. She felt the bile rise in her throat, her stomach turning. Her head burned at the thought of the fact that she had just taken her first lives. Technically the souls had spawned from hell and were therefore considered dead, but she had still taken a talking, breathing being and reduced it to nothing._

_Her legs began to shake. A sound to her left brought her attention to the fact that Shikamaru was still trying to get up from the miniature crater he was lying haphazardly in. Shannon stumbled over to him and dropped to her knees, tears streaming down her face. She felt wretched. She had allowed her friends to be tossed around like ragdolls; had let herself become distracted and they had suffered the price for it._

_And Shika…he had tried to snap her out of whatever trance she had fallen into, and it had cost him dearly._

_Choking back a sob, Shannon hooked her arms under his and half-dragged, half-lifted him out of the hole, cradling his head on her lap._

"_Shika…I'm sorry…I did it again…" she sobbed, wiping a trail of blood from a cut above his eye. "You got hurt again because of me…"_

_Shannon screwed her eyes shut, shaking away the tears. It wouldn't do any of the others any good if she just sat there crying. They needed help. Shannon's stomach dropped. They needed help she couldn't give. She was all alone in the middle of a battlefield, with no medical skills, easy prey for any passing enemies. The sobs broke free, wracking her petite form. They could die, all because of her…all because she was too weak to control her own powers…to scared to stay focused in the heat of battle…_

_Weak. She hated the word bitterly, but it plagued almost every aspect of her life. She could hear it repeating itself in the back of her mind, taunting her._

_Weak…weak…weak…_

"Shannon! Wake up!" someone was shaking her roughly, snapping her mind away from the terrible scene replaying itself in her head. "Shannon!"

Her eyes shot open and she bolted into a sitting position, chest heaving, heart pounding. She felt someone touch her shoulder and she flinched, snapping her head to see whoever it was.

Sakura's worried eyes met hers, the gentle grip on Shannon's shoulder never wavering. "You were screaming in your sleep again."

Shannon forced herself to calm down, her body slumping. "Sorry about that…"

It had been two days since the attack by the demons, and everyone was still feeling the after-effects – both mentally and physically. Sakura's healing chakra and soldier pills had helped in the recovery from their battle wounds, but no amount of medicine could take away the shock at being beaten so brutally. The ninja were still shaken that they had been so weak compared to these new enemies. They had a feeling that they were a little out of their depth here.

Sakura's expression softened. "It was the nightmare again, wasn't it?"

The brunette sighed, hanging her head. "It won't stop…it's been two nights in a row now…"

"It's understandable," the pink-haired medic nin patted her shoulder comfortingly. "You went through some serious trauma. But you shouldn't think about it so much – without you, the situation probably would have been a lot worse."

"I didn't _do_ anything," Shannon muttered. "You guys still got tossed around pretty good and I couldn't do anything about it. I tried, but…"

"First of all, you have to stop feeling sorry for yourself," Sasuke interrupted from his position against a pole opposite her. Shannon shot him a sharp look. "And then you need to stop putting yourself down – you took those demons out before they could seriously injure any of us."

Shannon took a deep breath, letting his words sink in. He was right, in a sense. But she still didn't feel comfortable with the fact that she had killed something.

"And anyway," Sasuke's tone was friendlier now. Shannon almost fell over – this was the nicest he had been to her since they met what seemed like so long ago. "You can use this as an opportunity to improve your skills with those shadows of yours, if you really don't want anything like that to happen again. We'll arrive at the Akatsuki meeting point sometime tomorrow – we need all the preparation and skill we can get."

Pushing her shock aside, Shannon looked at the black-haired ninja and nodded. "I see your point," she agreed. She thought about it for a little bit longer and sighed, massaging her throbbing temples. "The only problem is I don't know how to control these shadows _at all_."

"I'm sure I could help you with that," Shikamaru said as he walked into their small circle. He tossed a few re-filled water bottles next to their packs and faced her. "Seeing as we have similar fighting tactics and all."

Shannon mulled his offer over in her head. It was true – she and Shikamaru both had control of shadow elements…and he was sure to be a patient teacher. And she was desperate to learn how to control this new power of hers before she hurt anyone in the group unintentionally.

A few moments later, she grinned and raised her determined gaze to meet his. "Sounds like a plan."

Shikamaru returned her smile and motioned for her to follow him to a flat section of ground not too far away. They needed as much time to train as possible if they were going to defeat the Akatsuki and get Josephine back in one piece.

As they two shadow users walked away, Sasuke felt a small smile tug at the corner of him mouth. Naruto, sitting next to him, chuckled and elbowed him in the ribs when he noticed.

"Careful, teme. You might just make us start to think that you care."

"Shut up, dobe," Sasuke scowled, but his smile soon returned.

…

"Focus."

Shannon gritted her teeth and concentrated on the small tendril of shadow writhing in her palm. She could feel the tug of her 'other side' at the back of her mind, just itching to take over, but she squashed it down. Shikamaru had been teaching her how to focus on her surroundings, rather than the uncontrollable rage that bubbled inside of her when she released the shadows.

She took a few calming breaths and listened intently to her surroundings – the sound of the wind whistling through the battered buildings, Shikamaru's steady breathing, her own thumping heartbeat.

"That's better," Shikamaru breathed a mental sigh of relief. It had looked for a second as though she would lose control, but her determination surprised him. "Now try releasing more shadows."

Shannon frowned at him. They had been sitting cross-legged on the ground, working at a blistering pace for the past five hours, neither of them taking a moment's rest. Shannon had been soaking up whatever information Shikamaru could give her about how to keep her violent nature in check while using her shadows, and not rip everything around her to microscopic pieces.

So far she had managed with ten tendrils out. Shikamaru constantly kept pushing her, making her increase the number of them every half an hour. The more shadows she released, the harder and harder it was to keep her bloodlust under control.

Seeing her hesitation, Shikamaru took one of Shannon's hands – the one with the lone shadow tendril balancing in it. He looked her in the eye and said, "Focus on me."

Shannon did as he told, focusing all her attention on the shinobi before her. She took in every detail of his face, the ragged clothes he wore, his wildly spiked hair. She felt the subconscious rage recede somewhat.

Shikamaru noted her calmed attitude and smiled. "Now release more shadows."

Shannon took a deep breath, closing her eyes in concentration. "How many?"

"All of them."

Her eyes snapped back open, wide. "_All _of them? You can't be serious!"

But the look on his face was _deadly_ serious. "We don't have time to mess around, Shannon. We face off with the Akatsuki tomorrow. We need to be prepared. If you want to be able to control those things, you'll have to listen to me. Trust me."

Shannon saw the pleading look in his eyes and sighed. She swallowed down her apprehension. She trusted Shikamaru the most out of their entire squad. Possibly even more than she trusted Ashley. He had saved her life more than once. She wasn't about to lose faith in him now. Taking another calming breath, Shannon focused on her partner's deep brown eyes, blocking out everything else.

She released all her shadows in one fluid motion. The inky, smoke-like appendages swirled around her form, lashing out like hungry snakes. And with the shadows, came the uncontrollable rage, worse than she had ever felt it before. Shannon clenched her teeth, screwing her eyes shut tightly. Her grip on Shikamaru's hand increased painfully. She grunted with the effort of not letting the overwhelming bloodlust completely take her over.

"Shannon! Listen to me – focus on _me_."

Shannon forced her eyes open again, her jaw clenched so tightly she felt as though her teeth would crack from the pressure. Her vision was starting to redden with rage, her blood pounding in her ears.

"_Focus!_ You can do this."

Shannon dragged her heated gaze to Shikamaru's steel-hard one. His eyes never wavered or flickered for a second. She forced herself to focus on nothing but his eyes. Slowly, her mind began to calm. She remembered everything about those eyes – how one look from them had given her strength when she felt so weak and insecure; they held a confidence and determination in them that fuelled her will to succeed. They had comforted her when she had been falling to pieces. They had put her back together again.

The rage slipped further and further into the dark recesses of her mind, eventually disappearing altogether, as Shannon focused more intently on Shikamaru's eyes. A realization suddenly hit her with such force it almost physically knocked her breathless.

She loved those eyes. Not just the eyes, but the person they belonged to. Shannon was as naïve to the nature of love as they came, but this feeling…it was unlike anything she had experienced before. It felt like…like a part of her she hadn't even known was missing had suddenly been filled.

Everything else melted away, like the person before her was the only thing left on the planet. The more she focused on those eyes, the more she realized that her feelings were genuine…not just that nonsensical stuff those starry-eyes pre-teens used to dream about and fantasize about having. This was real, genuine _emotion_.

Shannon suddenly found herself short of breath when she realized that Shikamaru was staring back at her just intently as she had been looking at him. She reddened slightly, thinking she had been caught out. There was no way he could ever feel the same…it was impossible. He was a shinobi, someone who had been trained for years to disregard feelings and harden themself to emotion. And what was she? Just some poorly-trained civilian with freakish powers and an anger-management problem.

Shannon averted her eyes, looking down at the ground. She was foolish to believe even for a second that her newly-discovered feeling would be reciprocated in any way…

She hadn't realized how close their faces actually were until she felt Shika's lips gently brush against her own.

Shannon felt like she had been jolted by an electric shock. Her eyes widened in surprise, heart thudding almost painfully in her chest. It took a moment for the surprise to fade, but the tingling sensation never left her body. Shannon's eyes slid closed and she gently kissed him back, albeit unsurely. She felt his fingers twine themselves with hers, and her heart leaped again. Shikamaru pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. Shannon responded readily, detangling her hands from his and instead wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I was wondering when that was going to happen."

The two of them pulled away from each other abruptly, heads snapping to the source of the voice. Sai stood a little way away, smirking knowingly. Shannon, realizing that her arms were still around Shikamaru's neck, blushed profusely and averted her gaze from the artist.

"Uhhh…" for once, both of them were at a loss for words.

"But anyway, don't let me intrude," Sai winked at them, causing the pair to redden even more. "We've been waiting long enough for this."

"We?" Shannon questioned lamely as the black-haired shinobi walked away.

Shannon turned her head to look back at Shikamaru, who met her eyes with an equally confused look of his own. He suddenly smiled, chuckling slightly. Shannon blushed again, but laughed along as well. Sai had a habit of making people very…confused.

"Who gives a shit about _them_?" Shikamaru smirked, pulling Shannon back down again.

Had her lips not been otherwise occupied, she would have been inclined to agree with him.

**I'm **_**really**_** bad at affection scenes -_-' sorry if that one sort of sucked…I haven't written one before…who knew they were so difficult to write? :s**

**Anywho! Akatsuki coming up next! :D now we finally get to see if Shannon's grand plan actually works or not B3 it'll be just as much of a surprise to you as it'll be to me…LOL XD**

**Don't forget to review if you wanna see what happens! :3**


	18. Chapter 18

'**Sup! :D**

**Moonlttiger – Yes! Shika finally grew a pair! XD I tend to go in whichever direction the story flows :3 though I have an idea of something I want to happen in this chapter, so I'll be working my way towards that B3**

**MidnightheartXxX – She hasn't forgotten that whole half-demon scenario – it does eventually come back to bite her (in this chapter, even). And you're very welcome! :D I know personally that I hate it when I really get into a story and then find the author hasn't updated in like 6 months or something :/ I'm determined not to let that same thing happen here! X3**

****Chapter 18****

Nine figures crouched on the roof of a small warehouse, silhouetted against the rising sun. They each regarded the landscape scattered before them. The orange-tinted sunlight was just starting to paint everything in light, erasing the shadows and the Creatures that hid in them.

The leader of the group sighed, running a hand through his oddly-spiked black hair.

"Alright," he muttered to the rest of his companions, his expression settling into one of determination and concentration. "Time to move."

They stopped a few blocks away from their destination, preparing themselves for what could possibly a deadly confrontation with the enemy. The group divided itself in two – one half would be directly facing off with the enemy, and the other would be waiting in the wings, ready to spring to attack should the need arise.

The others continued on their way, but two stayed behind for a moment.

"Promise me you'll be careful," Shikamaru said quietly, looking Shannon in the eyes.

"Only if you do," she replied, taking his hand in her own for a moment.

Shikamaru smiled. "You know I will."

With one last smile, they parted, Shikamaru joining Hinata, Sai, Ashley and Naruto and Shannon jogging to catch up with Lee, Sasuke and Sakura. There was no time for delay – the Akatsuki were waiting.

…

Sakura, Sasuke, Lee and Shannon walked into a large, dilapidated parking lot, surrounded by the smoldering remains of factories and the crumbled wreckage of a highway overpass. Their bodies were rigid with tension, senses highly alerted to every sight, sound and smell. The enemy could be _anywhere_.

Shannon ignored the nervous butterflies flitting around in her stomach. Her plan _would_ work, she was sure of it. If it didn't…they would all be doomed. The group of four stopped in the middle of the parking lot, searching for any sign of the Akatsuki. As far as they could tell, not a soul was present besides themselves. Frowning, Shannon was just about to voice her doubts when a cold voice cut her off. The mere sound of it gave her the chills.

"I was starting to think you would never arrive."

They slowly turned to face the wreckage of an auto dealership. There, perched on its slanting tin roof, stood the leader of the Akatsuki, his black and red cloak whipping in the wind. Pein.

Upon seeing the orange-haired leader, the group began to spot all the other assorted members of the criminal organization. It seemed as though they had simply melted out of the scenery – like deadly, multi-colored ghosts. Kisame squatted at a position slightly further up from Pein on the tin roof, his giant sword resting on his back. Itachi stood half-hidden in the shadows of the building underneath them, his Sharingan eyes burning bright. Shannon felt Sasuke stiffen next to her when he laid eyes on his older brother.

Konan stood a little ways behind Pein, her expression as stoic as his. The wind tousled the large paper flower in her azure hair. Sasori sat on a crumpled billboard, his expression blank and maybe even a little bored. Shannon noted that he had only two puppets with him – both charred and looking worse for wear. But she never let the notion that he may have more hidden somewhere out of sight slip from her mind.

Zetsu suddenly appeared from underneath a pile of rubble. Shannon shuddered – out of all the Akatsuki, he was probably the one that scared her the most. His leaf-like appendages shielded his bi-colored face from the harsh sunlight. The next she spotted was Deidara.

Shannon felt her teeth clench angrily. After what he had done to Shikamaru…he would be the first person she attacked. Shannon would have liked nothing better than to wipe that smug grin off his face. Maybe even rip his long hair out, too. _That_ would make him scream.

She realized her 'other half' was taking over her thoughts, and quickly shoved it down. The time for violence would come later. And it would be on her _own_ terms.

"Pfft, took you losers long enough," Hidan made his presence loudly known from his position atop another small building.

Shannon glared at him, seeing his cold smirk and arrogant posture. He thought they were here to surrender without a fight. Well, they wouldn't make it so easy. She assumed he had been sewn back together again by a medic nin, considering that the last time she had seen the silver-haired Akatsuki, he had been dumped into a sack in multiple pieces.

And behind the loud-mouthed man…Shannon's eyes narrowed and she had to fight down the shadows that threatened to break free just from looking at the vile creature.

"Kakuzu…" she growled under her breath, her fists clenched.

Her glare travelled down Kakuzu's extended arm to where his dark tendrils were wrapped around her mother's quivering form. Shannon forced herself to remain calm. She couldn't afford to blow it now. The time for action would come later – for now, she just had to play it cool. Shannon met her mother's eyes, willing her to understand that she was here to help.

Shannon and the rest of the group turned their attention back to Pein as he regarded them with his chilling Rinnegan eyes. The tense silence was abruptly shattered by a loud, child-like voice screeching from somewhere behind Sasori.

"See? Tobi _told_ you girl-chan would come!"

The assembled ninja dead-panned as the energetic, orange-masked man came hurtling around the billboard and into view, waving his arms around like a lunatic.

"How he ever got into the Akatsuki, I'll never know," Sakura mumbled under her breath, her eye twitching.

Shannon and Lee both shook their heads in agreement. Shannon glanced over at Sasuke – he hadn't moved an inch. His fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles had turned white, and his swirling red eyes hadn't left Itachi the entire time. She followed his line of sight and found Itachi's bright Sharingan gaze hadn't moved an inch from his younger brother's either. She could literally feel the tension between them, half expecting there to be bright sparks of lightning flashing in the space separating the brothers.

Shannon snapped her attention back to Pein. The pierced leader sighed and shook his head.

"Tobi…" he growled, "this is not the time for your shenanigans!"

"Eh…sorry, Leader-sama," Tobi apologized, hands raised in a defensive gesture. "Tobi will just stay with Zetsu-chan now…"

Before Pein could even glance his way again, Tobi shot behind the plant man, cowering in his shadow.

_How anyone takes this organization seriously with him running amok in it, I don't know,_ Shannon thought, one brow arched in disbelief.

"Weren't there more of you before?" Kakuzu suddenly questioned, eyes narrowed suspiciously.

_Here we go…_

"We were attacked by a gang of demons a few days ago," Sakura replied stiffly, her expression pained. "We lost a few people."

Shannon really had to hand it to the pink-haired kunoichi – she was one _hell_ of an actress.

"Even the Power of Youth could not help them," Lee sighed, hanging his head forlornly. Shannon mentally slapped her forehead. Lee and his Power of Youth philosophy…at a time like _this?_

Kakuzu cast them a skeptical look. He shoved Josephine towards Hidan, stalking off of the roof. "Watch the woman. I'm going to make sure these fools aren't trying to trick us."

Shannon let out the breath she had been holding. So far, so good…now it was just up to Shikamaru and the others to make sure the rest of the plan went smoothly.

Hidan kept a tight hold on Josephine, making sure the terrified woman couldn't go anywhere. Shannon felt a stab of fear pierce through her stomach – she couldn't imagine what these monsters had been doing to her mother since they had captured her. And frankly, she didn't want to even imagine it.

All she wanted to do was get her mother back.

"So, the little half-demon everyone is so interested in is finally here to surrender," Pein said, his ringed eyes boring into Shannon.

She gritted her teeth and held her ground. She would _not_ be intimidated by this man.

"What do you mean, half-demon?" she questioned, quirking an eyebrow. Pein was now the second one to mention it…the first time she had heard it had been from those demons…Shannon suppressed a shudder. You couldn't trust demons.

Pein gave a short, humorless laugh. "You mean you haven't noticed it yet? Or are you just playing dumb?"

Shannon bit her clenched her fists, biting her tongue. Beside her, Sakura and Lee did much the same thing. Sasuke was still in the middle of his staring death-match between him and his brother. Pein was trying to incite them, let them make the first move. But if their plan was to succeed, they couldn't do that.

"Those…shadow abilities of yours," the orange-haired Akatsuki continued, "The one's you used to subdue certain members of my organization." Hidan scowled as Pein shot him a dirty look. "Those powers are no normal gifts. You have no chakra, therefore it can't possibly be any form of kekkei genkai."

"I figured that much already," Shannon growled. "Tell me something I _don't_ know."

Pein snorted, fixing her with an icy ringed stare. "Tell me something – did your mother ever mention anything about your _father_?"

Shannon's eyes narrowed to slits. Her mother had never mentioned anything about her 'father', and she hadn't wanted to know anything about him anyway. All she knew was that he had abandoned Josephine not long after she had given birth to Shannon, claiming to want no part in the raising of a child. Shannon didn't even know what the bastard looked like. She and Josephine had always managed just fine on their own.

"I'll take that as a no," the Akatsuki leader smirked. "Let me just tell you something, _girl._ We know a lot more about you than you realize."

Shannon's rage boiled just beneath the surface, barely restrained. Who were these people to bring up her past? They had nothing to do with it! If it was one thing she couldn't stand, it was people sticking their noses in where they shouldn't. Suddenly, she smirked. Two could play at that game…

"Well let me tell _you_, _Pein_," she ground out through clenched teeth, "I also know a lot more about you than you may be comfortable with."

She felt a surge of satisfaction after seeing his outraged look. Oh yes, she knew his name. She wouldn't tell him how, though. That was the fun part. She knew everything about each of these people – their strengths, their weaknesses, their history…all of it.

Pein's outraged look faded to a scowl. "That may be the case, but we know all we need to about you. Like the fact that your father was a _demon_."

"W-what?" Shannon's smirk faded. Her father? A demon?

"You heard me, little girl," the Akatsuki leader sniggered. The rest of the group joined in, their mocking laughter echoing off the ruined buildings. "A demon."

When Shannon still found herself unable to speak, he continued. "How else would you explain those abilities of yours? They were no freak occurrence – it's in your blood. Always has been."

Shannon found herself unable to move. She couldn't speak a word – only listen. It was as though the shock of the news had left her mind paralyzed. Her companions were equally as shocked – that much was apparent from their facial expressions. Pein laughed cruelly.

"You're telling me none of you figured it out? Even after we sent those demons to eliminate you?"

That statement touched a nerve.

"Y-you sent those demons?" Shannon's eyes narrowed as she lifted her gaze to the orange-haired Akatsuki leader. "The demons that nearly killed us?"

"Well I told them to leave you alive, obviously," Pein snickered, arms folded. Behind him, Kisame unhooked his sword and swung it over his shoulder. "You'd be no use to us dead."

"Those demons…nearly…_killed_ my comrades," Shannon ground out slowly. She could feel the shadows flicker to life under her skin.

"And seeing as they failed to accomplish that, I guess we'll just have to finish the rest of them off ourselves," Pein replied, grinning evilly. "Though they did eliminate a good size of the threat for us, as it would appear."

Shannon started quivering, her fists clenched so tightly her nails began to draw blood from her palms. Her glare hardened, staring straight at the Akatsuki leader who smirked down at her so confidently.

"Shannon? Shannon, calm down!" Sakura hissed. But it was too late.

"What they've done…I can't just let it go," she growled back. Her shadows sprang to life, leaping out of her body and swirling around in a dark cloud of tendrils. "They almost killed you all…and they're going to try again."

"Are you crazy? You can't take all of them on by yourself!" Sakura protested.

Shannon's demeanor toned down somewhat. She relaxed her shoulders, her expression calm. Her eyes still held that raging fury, but this time, it was all her own. The shadows had nothing to do with the blinding anger that coursed through her veins as she looked at the group that had caused her and her comrades so much pain and suffering for the past few weeks. Her eyes flickered to her mother, still held tightly in Hidan's vice-like grip. She saw the fear in the older woman's eyes.

Whether it was directed at her or the Akatsuki, she couldn't tell. But it didn't matter anymore.

Something stuck out to Shannon, and she took a moment to re-evaluate the situation. Kakuzu still hadn't returned. That meant Naruto hadn't sent a shadow clone back. Something was wrong.

"You're right," she said, her voice deadly calm.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief before Shannon continued.

"We'll need backup. Go find the others."

Lee looked at her sharply. "We would still be outnumbered if Sakura went to go find the others. There would be no sense in attacking now."

"You forget, Lee," Shannon muttered, flexing her shadow appendages. "I don't need numbers to win."

"Well, well! Guess we get to see your little ability for ourselves then, don't we?" Pein laughed, looking down at her like some inferior being. "This should be interesting."

It was all Shannon could do to keep herself from skewering him right then and there. But she needed to get the others out of danger first.

"Lee, when I give the signal, get my mother," she said, her eyes never leaving Pein. "Sasuke, you'll help me."

"But…" the bushy-browed ninja started, but was swiftly cut off.

"Just do it!" Shannon snapped, turning her angry gaze on him. Lee flinched slightly – instead of their normal green, Shannon's eyes had done a deep red – like the color of blood.

She turned her head back to Pein, her mouth set in a grim line. The shadow tendrils grew in size until each of them was about ten feet long, snapping like whips.

"What are you waiting for?" Shannon's voice sent chills down Sakura's spine. "You should be running."

And then everything seemed to happen at once.

Shannon nodded to Sasuke, and he shot off towards Itachi, a chidori already powering up in his hands. Sakura bolted for the city line, searching for the others. Lee, using his incredible speed, took Hidan by surprise and sent him flying. He grabbed Josephine, slung her over his shoulder, and disappeared after Sakura.

Shannon, seeing the other Akatsuki members preparing to follow after them, snapped her shadow tendrils out, stopping them all in their tracks. The grim look on her face never wavered as she glared at Pein, unmoving on the tin roof.

"Call me a half-demon? Fine," she growled. "Pry into my personal life? That's pushing it a little. But come here, to _my_ world, and endanger my family and friends?"

It was a clash of blood-red and silver, neither wavering, as she finished.

"That, I will _not_ tolerate."

**Yes, I know.**

**I'm terribly, utterly, maniacally….**

**EVIL.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Cliffhangers…what would a good story be without them? ;D**

**Xelacy – welcome! :D your wish is my command B3**

**Moonlttiger – suspense is what makes a great story ;) and don't worry, all your questions will be answered shortly :D and this story will never be left hanging, you guys are too good to me for that (never mind the fact that it seriously bugs me if I don't update at least once every two days) :3**

**MidnightheartXxX – no…it won't be long at all…in fact…we get to see what happens…right…**

**NOW! :D**

****Chapter 19****

Deidara struggled wildly in the clutches of the gigantic shadow wrapped around him, pinning his hands to his sides. Hidan started to swear profusely, but another tendril slapped itself over his mouth. Shannon had had enough of his foul language.

Tobi squealed, thrashing around wildly as he was hoisted off the ground. Shannon – not wishing to have his high-pitched voice drilling into her skull in the heat of battle – tossed him to the ground. In seconds, the orange-masked man had scampered from view.

The whole time, Shannon never broke eye contact with Pein, standing a few hundred meters away. Both of them were as still as stone, neither willing to admit defeat in this heated battle of wills.

Suddenly, there was a loud _boom_ as a figure smashed through one of the crumbling buildings, showering everything in a cloud of dust. Shannon's gaze snapped to the intrusion, as did Pein's and all the assembled Akatsuki's – bar from Sasuke and Itachi, who were battling each other near the outskirts of the compound.

Kakuzu slid along the ground from the force of whatever had sent him flying, arms raised defensively. About ten of Naruto's shadow clones bounded after him, shouting war cries. The rest of the cavalry soon arrived – Shikamaru, with his kunai at the ready, Sai surrounded by a small army of ink creatures, Hinata with her Byakugan activated, and Naruto bringing up the rear, teeth bared fiercely.

As the blonde ninja continued his assault on Kakuzu, Sai shouted to Shannon, "Focus on Pein! We can handle the others."

Nodding tersely, Shannon turned her attention back to the writhing Akatsuki in her grip. She caught sight of Pein beginning to mutter something under his breath – a phrase she felt certain she knew. Before he could complete whatever her was about to say, she wound another shadow tendril around his mouth, choking him.

"Now, now," she scolded mockingly, her voice as calm and icy as before. "There'll be no Shinra Tensei here. That's just not fair."

Pein's silver eyes merely narrowed to angry slits. He raised a hand to rip the shadow away from his mouth, but another one latched onto his wrist. Before he could even move, his other arm had been subdued as well.

Shannon smirked. She flicked her shadows, sending the other captive Akatsuki crashing to the ground in front of her waiting comrades. Now she could focus on what was really important – making the one person who had _dared_ think to control her and her companions suffer for his sins.

With a muffled shout, Pein wrenched his arms away from the shadow bindings, forming a rapid set of hand seals. Shannon slunk into a crouch, ready for whatever he could throw at her.

A massive whirlwind suddenly sprang up, dissipating the multiple shadow tendrils writhing about between the two adversaries. Shannon's arms flew up to shield her face from the harsh gale and flying debris. Barely a split second after the wind ceased, Shannon cracked an eye open to see Pein lunching himself towards her, fist pulled back and an angry expression on his face.

Shannon only had time to block the vicious punch, the force of it sending her skidding several feet backwards. She narrowly avoided a kick aimed at her head, and countered with a low round-house of her own. Pein nimbly jumped over it, bringing his knee down on her shoulder. She cried out as the blow landed painfully, sending her sprawling. Before the Akatsuki leader could land another blow to her unprotected stomach, Shannon's shadows sprang to her defense, shoving Pein away forcefully.

She jumped back to her feet, hurling herself towards her opponent. He was still trying to regain his balance from her earlier block, and left himself wide open for an attack. Shannon's clenched fist made contact with his rib cage. She felt, rather than heard, a satisfying snap as a few bones broke under the force of the blow.

Pein grunted, twisting his body and slamming a knee into her side. Shannon recovered quickly from the blow, springing off a hand and back into a defensive crouch. She wasn't sure whether her new strength was from anger or the shadows swirling around her form, but she didn't care. She liked it.

She would make Pein suffer for everything he had done. And this new strength was going to help her accomplish that.

Before she could stop him, Pein formed more hand seals and shouted, "Shinra Tensei!"

With a surprised shout, the younger girl was blasted off her feet. She was blown backwards several hundred feet by the force of Pein's gravity jutsu, slamming into a fallen section of the highway overpass she had seen earlier, and narrowly avoiding crushing Kisame between her and the solid block of concrete.

Shannon slid to the ground, momentarily winded. Kisame took one look at the murderous glint in her blood-red eyes and leaped away, back into his fight with Sai. There was no way he was going to chance a confrontation with _that_.

"Is that all?" Pein sneered, his ringed silver glare condescending. "I was expecting more."

"Oh, I'm not nearly finished yet," Shannon replied venomously, wiping a trail of blood from the corner of her mouth. "I'm only just warming up."

She pushed herself to her feet, trying to guess her opponent's next move. His stormy expression wasn't giving anything away. Gritting her teeth, Shannon shot out three spear-like tendrils, aiming for Pein's vital points. His eyes widened momentarily at their speed, but his hand sprang up again, deflecting the insubstantial weapons with another gust of wind.

"That won't work," he said, forming more seals. Shannon watched them carefully, looking for any she recognized. She needed to figure out a way to distinguish which attacks he would use. "Bensho Tenin!"

Shannon's eyes widened as she felt her body being pulled strongly towards the orange-haired Akatsuki. She tried to hold her ground, but the attraction force was too strong. As she hurtled towards him, she saw a kunai appear in his hand. Shannon's eyes narrowed. Two could play at that game.

Just as she reached her opponent, Shannon meshed her shadows together to form a large mass of impenetrable darkness, blinding both herself and Pein. He growled angrily as he lost sight of his target, dropping the kunai in case she somehow managed to turn it against him. Though, he never heard it hit the floor.

Shannon smacked hard into the Akatsuki leader, sending both of them to the ground. She landed hard on her side, using her shadow tendrils as hooks to keep her from sliding too far away from her target. The large ball of darkness dissipated, but before Pein could get back to his feet, Shannon sent more shadow spears hurtling towards him.

Using his wind jutsu again, he blew the shadows away like smoke. But he couldn't simply blow away the kunai that had been hidden in one of them. His ringed eyes widened briefly before his own discarded weapon buried deeply into his shoulder, glancing painfully off bone.

Shannon clambered back to her feet, breathing heavily. She smirked in satisfaction when she saw the large rip in Pein's robe, saturated with blood. He clamped an arm over the wound, pulling out the bloodstained weapon with a hiss.

"You'll pay for that one, brat," he spat, glaring at her.

Shannon simply smirked in reply, extending a hand and motioning her fingers towards herself. "Bring it on."

Pein returned the smirk, throwing the kunai into the fray of the battle raging around them. Shannon's expression turned into a snarl. _Still_ he was trying to harm her comrades.

Without hesitation, she threw herself at her opponent, a shadow spike protruding from her palm. Pein dodged the attack easily, and tried to grab her arm from behind. Shannon twisted in mid-air, the heel of her foot smashing into the side of his face and knocking him off his feet.

The Akatsuki leader righted himself in mid-flight, skidding along the ground in a crouch and kicking up a cloud of dust in his wake. Without pausing, he launched an attack of his own. Drawing several kunai from the folds of his cloak, his threw them simultaneously at the younger girl.

Gritting her teeth in concentration, Shannon dodged most of the projectiles, deflecting the rest with her shadow tendrils, though one or two managed to sink themselves into her left arm. She lashed out with the mist-like appendages, sending out such a sheer volume of them that Pein was unable to dodge them all.

Shannon came to a stop a few feet away from her opponent, regarding her handiwork coolly. He looked like an orange-haired pin cushion, shadow tendrils covering nearly every inch of his body. He had thrown his arms up in a defensive maneuver, but it hadn't helped in the slightest.

Shannon bared her teeth, digging the shadows in deeper. Her adversary grunted in pain, the strength of the shadows pushing him back several feet. Pein's one leg gave out, and he dropped to his knees, flinching. Shannon regarded him with an icy glare, not a single trace of remorse making itself known anywhere. This is what she wanted – he had to pay for everything he had done.

She growled angrily, lengthening her shadows to the point where some of them went straight through the Akatsuki leader's body and embedded themselves in the ground behind him. He cried out, but Shannon only slapped another tendril over his mouth. The sound annoyed her. And with his mouth silenced, he wouldn't be able to use any of his Rinnegan abilities to escape from her clutches. Not that he could use his arms to form the hand seals, anyway.

There was a loud explosion behind Pein, and Shannon diverted her gaze momentarily to take stock of her companions' situations.

Shikamaru was battling Hidan, and Shannon's heart glowed a little at the fact that he seemed to be winning. Hinata was using her Gentle Fist technique with some success on a very irate-looking Deidara – it looked as though she had sealed the chakra points on his hands so he couldn't make any more bombs like the one he had just detonated. Sasuke was still very much involved in his fight with his older brother, the two Uchiha's eyes blazing red with the Sharingan.

Sai was going head to head with Kisame, using a whole myriad of ink creatures to somehow subdue the shark-man's gargantuan blade, which was coming quite close to shaving a few hairs off his head. Naruto was taking care of Kakuzu. He had his hands full keeping those stitch-like tendrils occupied with a small army of rapidly-dissipating shadow clones, but otherwise seemed to be doing alright.

Shannon noticed that Sakura and Lee had rejoined the fight. She felt a small stab of irritation – where had they left her mother? Was no one protecting her? She scanned the rest of the battlefield. Ashley also seemed to be missing. The irritation died down – they must have left Josephine in Ashley's care.

Sakura was dealing with Konan, trying to pin the Akatsuki in one place. But it was no easy task – when she would corner the blue-haired woman, she would just scatter into a million paper butterflies and flutter somewhere else. Shannon could see the frustration starting to show on the pink-haired kunoichi's face.

Lee was having a hard time with Sasori – Shannon had been right in her earlier assumption that the puppet master had had more of his tools hidden away somewhere. Now about ten of them were facing off against the bushy-browed ninja.

Shannon noticed Zetsu slinking somewhere in the background, trying to get behind and attack Naruto, who was still preoccupied with Kakuzu. But before she could make a move to help, Hinata appeared from nowhere and sent the plant man careening into the decimated auto dealership with a single chakra-infused punch. Shannon had never seen the shy purple-eyed girl look so furious.

Shannon lazily turned her gaze back to Pein, who kneeled before her. The various wounds on his body bled profusely, creating a crimson puddle on the ground beneath him. With his arms useless and his voiced silenced, he could do nothing but glare hatefully at the young girl who held him captive.

"Not so nice when the tables are turned, hmm?" she said, her face devoid of emotion.

Pein let out a muffled curse and tried to struggle, but the more he moved the deeper Shannon dug her shadow tendrils into his body. She frowned, positioning a few of her shadow spikes over his vital areas. She paused, taking stock of her own condition.

She was bleeding badly from the kunai wounds torn in her arm, as well as various other places Pein had managed to hit. Her whole body felt stiff and bruised from being thrown around so much. Her legs were shaking, but she forced them to stop. She had to see this through. She had to make sure the Akatsuki wouldn't hurt any more people.

Shannon's heart beat unevenly in her chest, and her breathing was ragged. The fight had taken a lot more out of her physically than she had realized.

She took one last look into Pein's ringed silver eyes. She didn't see remorse, or pain, or even fear. All she saw was anger. Anger and bloodlust, with an underlying coldness and indifference that managed to chill her, even in her infuriated state. Shannon's expression hardened. She couldn't let a monster like this walk free.

"Tch," she clicked her tongue, sneering.

She drove the black shadow spikes deep into the monster's cold heart, silencing it.

**Nya :3**

**You know what to do ;)**

**Oh, and I'm having a little bit of trouble with one of my other fics, Rebellion. The writer's block virus has struck again -_-**

**If anyone has the time, please take a look at it and give some suggestions for what to do next :D PM me if you have any ideas :3**

**Thanking you! Til next time ;D**


	20. Chapter 20

**Finally, the face-off with the Akatsuki is upon us! :D (and is almost over)**

**Thanks again to everyone who reads and reviews! 8D**

**Moonlttiger – yes, he is dead :P I don't think she'll be **_**too**_** troubled…she hates his guts XP**

**MidnightheartXxX – I think that was the longest fight scene I've written to date -_-" we shall see what the aftermath will be in…**

**Five…**

**Four…**

**Three…**

**Two…**

**One…**

**ACTION!**

****Chapter 20** (WTF chapter TWENTY? Good grief…)**

"Pein-sama!"

Shannon's head snapped up to see Tobi cowering behind a block of crumbled concrete pillar, his single visible eye wide with shock.

She wrenched her shadow spears from Pein's mutilated body, letting it slump to the ground, utterly lifeless. She took one last look at his dull Rinnegan eyes before turning her attention back to the orange-masked man.

Tobi saw the look in her eyes - one of cold fury that sent chills down his spine. The shadow tendrils whipped around her body like dark snakes, dripping blood. _Leader-sama's_ blood. In a second, he had disappeared from sight again, wishing to be anywhere away from the scary girl.

Shannon snorted derisively as the orange-masked Akatsuki scampered away. Her eyes slowly melted from blood red to their usual dark green. Her blood pounded through her temples, her head throbbing painfully. She swayed a little from exhaustion, but caught herself. She looked down at her defeated adversary once more, frowning slightly.

There was a small amount of guilt for robbing yet another living being of their life, but that sympathy was quickly squashed when she remembered all the pain he had caused her and her comrades. He had sent demons to kill them off. He had kidnapped her mother. Those were things she could never forgive.

She looked at his bloodied corpse and felt a wave of relief wash over her. Pein wouldn't be able to make anyone suffer anymore. Another thought suddenly struck her – with the Akatsuki eliminated, was there really any need for her to accompany the Konoha nin back to their universe?

Before she could ponder this too deeply, an outraged scream brought her sharply back to the present.

Shannon's head whipped around to the source of the almost inhuman screech, and found herself coming face to face with Kisame's rapidly approaching blade. Her eyes widened for a second as the scene played itself out slowly, almost in slow-motion.

Sai was sprinting after his runaway opponent, a whole team of ink lions bounding behind him. Shannon saw Kisame's eyes glance over his fallen leader before snapping back to her, his face twisted in a furious snarl. His gigantic sword was raised high over his shoulder, ready for the one blow it would need to separate her head from her shoulders.

Shannon immediately knew that Sai wouldn't be able to reach the enraged swordsman in time. Acting on pure instinct, her shadow tendrils shot out again, as if of their own accord. Kisame's eyes widened for a second before the first dark projectile struck him in the shoulder, another knocking his precious weapon from his grasp.

Kisame tried to regain his fallen sword, but the momentum of his charge carried him further forward still, right into Shannon's deadly shadow spikes. It was only a matter of seconds before he joined his leader in a bloody mess on the ground. Shannon flinched slightly at the unexpected attack before she raised her eyes back to Sai.

He had stopped a few meters away, regarding her thoughtfully. She nodded at him, and he returned the gesture before leaping back into the fray to assist the others. Shannon once again surveyed the battlefield – things had seemed to have calmed down quite substantially.

Hinata had finished off Deidara relatively quickly – the blonde bomber lay motionless on the ground, missing his arms – and was now assisting Naruto with Zetsu, who had managed to split himself in half to fight the both of them simultaneously. Kakuzu was nowhere in sight.

Sasuke and Itachi were still fighting, but from what Shannon could tell they were both nearing the end of it. Itachi was favouring his left arm quite badly, one of his blazing red eyes swollen shut. Sasuke was bleeding heavily from various large wounds along his back and sides. But neither of them looked willing to quit just yet.

Lee seemed to be managing very well against Sasori and his puppets – out of the previous ten, only three were left standing. Sakura had finally managed to get Konan pinned down to a single spot, by using kunai to tack the majority of her paper to the ground and surrounding area.

And then between Sai and Shikamaru, Hidan was quickly defeated and left in a multitude of profanity-uttering pieces, strewn over the battlefield. Shikamaru turned around and caught sight of Shannon watching him. She must have looked a little worse for wear, because he started towards her with a worried expression on his face.

Suddenly, Shannon was struck by a bout of dizziness, swaying wildly on her feet. Her hand flew to her head to try and calm the throbbing in her temples, but the light-headedness just grew stronger. All of her shadows retracted themselves automatically, causing Shannon to lose the last means of support she had. She saw Shikamaru running towards her, calling her name.

And then she was falling. Her vision went black. She never felt herself hit the ground.

**This chapter was more to tie up the loose ends from the previous one than anything else…**

**The next one will be a lot more substantial :D**

**But I guess you'll only find out if you review ;)**

**And please, if anyone has any ideas regarding Rebellion, please let me know :D**


	21. Chapter 21

**Moonlttiger – haha fine, point given XP I think I'm subconsciously leaving chapters at cliffhangers -_- I don't think it's healthy…this chapter will most certainly be longer! :D no worries about that :3**

****Chapter 21****

When Shannon next opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Sakura and Shikamaru bending over her, both of them with worried expressions on their faces. When they saw she was conscious, both of them looked a little more relieved.

"You lost a lot of blood, try not to move around too much," Sakura told her, helping her sit up.

Shannon groaned, pressing her fingertips to her pounding temples. It felt as though her head would explode. Her entire body was stinging from the healing ointments Sakura had applied to her numerous injuries. She cracked an eye open and looked down at her battered body – she was literally covered in bandages from head to toe. They were wound around her midriff, along both her arms and her left thigh. Shannon, reddening, also noticed that her clothes had been changed.

There was a sight pressure on her back as Shikamaru supported her. "You had us worried for a moment there," he muttered, averting his eyes.

Shannon took a deep breath, leaning against him. She ignored the throbbing wounds. "How long was I out for?"

When Shikamaru didn't answer, Shannon turned to Sakura, an eyebrow raised questioningly.

Sakura sighed. "A day and a half."

Shannon let out a sigh of her own and shook her head. "That's a long time…"

"You're injuries were quite severe, so that's actually quite a remarkable recovery time, given the circumstances," the pink-haired medic nin gave her a gentle smile.

Shannon just nodded her head some more, eyes closed. She was silent for a few moments.

"Where's my mother?" she suddenly asked, eyes opening.

Sakura nodded her head in the direction of a hastily-constructed tent a few yards from where she had been lying. "Over there. She's been resting."

"Shika, a little help?" Shannon tried to push herself to her feet, but the screaming pain in her arms limited her movement.

With a silent nod, Shikamaru wound an arm around her waist and helped her to her feet. Shannon looped an arm over his shoulders for support as he helped her hobble towards her mother's tent. Shannon paused, looking down at the ground.

"And the others?" she directed the question at Sakura.

The pink-haired kunoichi smiled slightly, letting out a short laugh. "They're fine, Shannon. There's no need to worry about them."

Shannon nodded, feeling slightly relieved. She couldn't live with herself if any of her comrades had been injured terribly by the Akatsuki. She shivered. Injured or _worse_.

"What happened to the rest of the Akatsuki?" Shannon asked her companion as they walked.

"After they saw you defeat Pein and Kisame, they sort of just lost the will to fight," he explained. "Hinata had already finished off Deidara and they knew they were outnumbered because Tobi ran off too."

Shannon sighed in relief. That meant that the Akatsuki wouldn't be bothering them anymore. Their leader was dead and their forces scattered. The next thought that managed to worm its way into her groggy mind was the fact that she was still meant to be accompanying the Konoha squad back to their world. But before she could think too much about it, she and Shikamaru reached the tent.

Shikamaru held the tent flap open so Shannon could limp inside. Once her eyes adjusted to the gloom inside, she saw her mother sitting propped up against one of the poles supporting the ratty old tarp.

"Mom?" she said softly, not quite believing her eyes. After all this time searching, and she was finally here, in arms' reach…

The older woman turned around. Shannon saw tears in her eyes. "S-shannon? You're finally up!"

Suddenly, Shannon was crying. She flung herself at her mother, wrapping her arms tightly around Josephine's shoulders. "I was so worried Mom!"

Josephine hugged her daughter back with equal force. "I was too, sweety," she whispered as she buried her face in Shannon's hair. "I was too."

…

It was the third day after their fight with the Akatsuki, and the Konoha squad was still trying to recover. Shannon sat on a large fallen pillar just outside of where they had made camp, contemplating the group's current state.

Sai, Hinata and Naruto weren't too badly injured, seeing as all three of their fights had been interrupted and their opponents morally weakened. Sasuke was healing from a broken arm and shoulder, and he had temporarily lost his vision after using his Sharingan for an extended amount of time. Sakura had said that he would recover from it quite quickly, though.

Sakura herself wasn't on top of the world, either. She had several large gashes across her back from Konan's paper weapons, and the amount of bandages and gauze she had been forced to wear severely restricted her movement, making her irritable and snappy.

Lee was still recovering from opening two of his five Celestial Gates to defeat Sasori and his puppet army, his energy severely depleted. Sakura had him on a staple diet of her soldier pills, of which he was none too pleased about.

Shikamaru wasn't in too bad of a state, Shannon was relieved to note. He'd dislocated his shoulder while fighting Hidan, but Sakura had fixed it up in a second. She was making him walk around with his arm in a sling purely for precautionary measures. Shannon chuckled at the memory. He hadn't stopped complaining since.

Ashley and Josephine weren't injured at all, much to her relief. Lee had left both of them at a location as far away from the fighting as possible so nothing would happen to them. Shannon's mouth curved into a slight smile. She would have to thank him for that when she had the opportunity to talk to him. Sakura had literally had him in isolation so he could regain some of his lost strength.

Shannon's thoughts strayed to what would become of her and the others now. Since the Akatsuki had been defeated, there was really no reason for her to go to Konoha, was there…? She remembered that other ninja on the 'other side' would still be working to open the portal to get the entire team back home. But Shannon wasn't so sure she wanted to leave this world. After all, she had been raised here, and felt it sort of her duty to try and help rebuild it again after its destruction. This was her home.

A vision of Shikamaru suddenly appeared in her mind's eye and Shannon's resolve wavered. She couldn't possibly leave him…

She cursed under her breath. If the goddamned Akatsuki hadn't stuck their nose in this, maybe things would have been different…

The Akatsuki…Shannon's stomach turned when she remembered the whole lecture Pein had given her. She still didn't believe him. Her estranged father…someone she had always resented and tried her hardest to forget about because of his abandonment…a demon?

She frowned. She had never wanted to know anything about her father before…but now, with these abilities of hers…she had to know. She had to understand what was happening to her.

Josephine sat next to Shannon on the pillar. Since she had regained consciousness, Shannon's mother had scarcely left her side, much to Shikamaru's irritation. Shannon thought his annoyance was cute.

Taking a deep breath, Shannon looked at her mother out of the corner of her eye. Josephine sat back to back with her daughter, comforted just by the fact that she was with her again. Shannon compressed a shudder at the thought of what Josephine had suffered while in the company of those vile monsters called the Akatsuki…but she pushed that thought aside. She had to know what her mother knew of her father. It couldn't wait.

"Mom…" she began hesitantly, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.

"Yes?" Josephine answered, tilting her head in her daughter's direction.

Shannon hesitated for a moment longer before plucking up the courage and blurting out her question.

"Who was my dad?"

There was a tense silence behind her, and Shannon turned her head more to see her mother's expression. She gulped when she saw the conflicting emotions on Josephine's dirt-streaked face.

Shock, surprise, maybe even a little bit of anger…but the overriding emotion in her eyes was…guilt. The look in Josephine's pastel green eyes was absolutely wracked with guilt.

When her mother maintained her silence, Shannon pressed on, not one to be easily deterred. "Pein said he was…a demon…" she breathed the last word as though if she said it any louder, it would choke the life from her.

Shannon felt her mother begin to tremble. "Mom…"

"I'm sorry, Shannon…" Josephine muttered, her voice shaky. She refused to meet her daughter's eyes. "I-I should have told you…but I was afraid…"

"Afraid of what?" Shannon's heart was beating harshly in her chest, a cold feeling of dread rising up from the pit of her stomach.

Tears started trailing down Josephine's cheeks as she hid her face behind a curtain of matted hair. She paused for a moment, taking a calming breath, before looking at her only daughter with watery eyes. "I was afraid you would hate me for being so…weak."

"Weak?" Shannon's confusion mounted. "Mom, what do you mean? I could never hate you!"

"You say that now…" Josephine shook her head sadly, shoulders trembling.

"Mom…" Shannon gentle took her mother's shoulders. "Just tell me what's wrong."

Josephine looked at Shannon, saw the comforting smile on her face, the understanding look in her eyes. She stopped trembling. How her daughter had ever turned out to be such a compassionate being, even after everything that had happened to her, was a complete mystery to the older woman.

But one that she was ever so grateful for.

She took another deep breath and averted her eyes, staring at a fixed point on the group a few feet below. "You're…_father_…I didn't really know him." Josephine paused again, biting her lip. It was obvious to Shannon that the story her mother was trying to tell brought back extremely painful memories. She just laid a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

"When I was a freshman in college, I lived a few miles off campus," Josephine went on shakily, still staring at the ground. "I didn't have enough money for a car, so I walked to and from my classes. One night, I was…attacked by _something_…and…it was horrible…"

Shannon's grip tightened on her mother's shoulder, almost painfully. Josephine's gaze snapped up to her daughter. Her head was bowed, her face hidden by her hair. Now it was _her_ shoulders that were trembling.

"Shannon…" Josephine felt wretched inside. She had kept this secret from her daughter for so long out of the fear that she would be rejected by her own flesh and blood, oblivious to the pain that was engulfing her child. Every child should have the right to know who their father is…even if it be someone who should never have existed in the first place.

"Don't worry, Mom…" Shannon's voice sounded strained, but Josephine could detect no anger in it. Her eyes widened fractionally for a second when Shannon threw her arms around the older woman, burying her head against her shoulder. "I understand now…you don't have to worry about me rejecting you or any bullshit like that…"

Josephine wrapped her arms around her daughter, resting her chin atop the adolescent girl's head. "I could never resent anything you did…even after all you went through, you still kept me…you've been the only family I've ever needed…ever _wanted_…I could never bring myself to hate you."

Tears were streaming down both Josephine and Shannon's faces, but this time, they were tears of relief…and maybe even happiness.

"Thank you…Mom."

**Nya X3**

**I think we all know what Josephine was talking about when she said 'attacked'… :/ bad demons! Hate them! **

***Insert review for next chapter***


	22. Chapter 22

**Ah, you guys are the absolute best X'D**

**Your feedback from the story has helped me so much, and made me feel appreciated 83 Unfortunately, there won't be many more chapters of this as the story is nearing its conclusion :'( **

**But! Fear not! I am thinking of making a continuation of this story with a new OC and more awesome Naruto characters :D lemme know what you amazing people think of that idea X3**

**MidnightheartXxX – you can't get much worse than a demon, agreed -_- but karma works in wonderful and mysterious ways… X3**

**Moonlttiger – haha me? Losing my touch? Pffffft :P Trust me, I'll have a few more **_**really**_** cliffy cliffhangers in store just for you ;)**

**nightshade – welcome and thanks for reading :D well, if you think about it this way, it is a post-apocalyptic alternate universe, I don't think Pein would be able to summon any of his alternate forms seeing as he has no connections to the world where he is physically able to…but a valid point, nonetheless :3**

**Once again, poor Kiba! DX gosh that poor little canine deserves better…can't believe I keep forgetting about him! *smacks head***

****Chapter twenty-two****

Shannon honestly had no clue what to do anymore. She wanted so badly to go with Shikamaru and the rest of the squad back to Konoha, but a part of her was telling her to stay and help rebuild her world. She also didn't know what was going to happen to Ashley and her mother…would the ninja take them back as well? She just couldn't bear to leave them after everything that had happened.

And thinking about Konoha…how would they even _get_ back? The worst part about the whole situation was no one knew when the gates to the other world would be opened by the ninja on the other side. It could happen anytime, anywhere.

Shannon sighed. A raging headache was forming from all her stressful thinking.

"Shika…what's going to happen now?"

The two of them were sitting on the roof of one of the very few buildings still standing in the city. Shannon was lying against Shikamaru's chest, his arms wrapped around her waist and his chin resting on her head. She knotted her fingers with his, staring fixedly at the slowly setting sun. Neither of them felt the need to move – there was still a good two or three hours of sunlight left.

"Now? Now, we just wait for Konoha to find a way to get us back," he replied. There was such conviction in his voice that Shannon didn't doubt for a second that Konoha would fail them.

Shannon closed her eyes and listened to the steady thumping of his heartbeat. Just being this near to him still made her stomach twist itself into nervous knots. She snorted – it made her feel like one of those love-sick schoolgirls she always used to see around the mall. Shannon smiled to herself. There was no such thing as that fluffy nonsense anymore. In times like these, everything revolved around the very strongest and basest of emotions. No superficial crap like that.

Shannon opened her eyes again, gazing at the sunset. Even in the midst of an apocalypse, something as simple and as beautiful as the sunset remained unchanged. The sinking sun had reddened, casting warm light on the whispy clouds that drifted around it, painting them various hues of pink, orange and purple. The sky was just starting to turn from dark blue to a deep purple. Everything the sun's rays touched seemed to transform into something enthralling. Even the desecrated buildings held a stark beauty of their own.

As she lay there in Shikamaru's warm embrace, Shannon made up her mind. She would go back with him to Konoha when the time came. She would follow him to the end of the earth if she had to.

And she was pretty sure Shikamaru would do the same for her. He had told her as much.

"What about Ashley? And my mother?" she asked softly, shivering slightly as a gust of cold wind washed over her.

Shikamaru tightened his arms around her, laying his cheek against her temple. "We'll take them with. We couldn't possibly leave them here."

Shannon let out a short breath she hadn't realized she had been holding, relieved. She felt a small stab of guilt at what would happen to Carli and the others when they left. Come to think of it, she didn't even know where they were at the moment.

Shikamaru noticed her change in demeanor. "What's wrong?"

"I just can't help but think of what will happen to everyone that gets left here," she muttered, her gaze drifting to the rubble-strewn ground below her.

"They'll be fine, I'm sure," he reassured her. "Things won't stay like this for long. People have the uncanny ability to make the most of any situation. And anyway, like they say – necessity is the mother of invention."

"I suppose you're right," Shannon let a small smile curve the corner of her mouth as she raised her eyes to the heavens again.

"I always am, aren't I?" Shikamaru joked, winking at her.

"Don't be so full of yourself, Mr. High and Mighty Genius," she scoffed, playfully smacking his arm and chuckling.

A small seed of hope sewed itself in her chest. Maybe things would be alright, after all.

…

A few days later, Shannon was still contemplating whether to tell the others about her half-demon heritage. She and her mother hadn't spoken of it again, but they shared a deeper understanding now that Shannon was profoundly thankful for. She had been so scared of losing her mother, and now that they were back together, nothing would ever take her away again.

One of the reasons Shannon hadn't said anything to her comrades was because she was scared of rejection, much like her mother had been. But she had vowed never to make her mother's mistake. She would tell them…sooner or later. Maybe when they got back to Konoha.

Kiba yapped at Shannon's side as she trudged along the congested city streets in search of supplies. She stroked his head affectionately. She really couldn't believe how much he had grown. From that shivering ball of skin and bones, now stood a fierce Alsatian. He was slightly larger than most normal dogs of his breed, but Shannon chalked it down to the fact that there must be _some_ sort of crazy magic floating around in the air after hell all but opened up. His head now stood level with her waist, his muzzle full of sharp teeth. But despite all his intimidating characteristics, he had the most open face Shannon had ever seen on a dog. Never once had he snarled at anyone in the squad, even when they got on his nerves. His eyes were bright and earnest, always looking to please his various masters. His snout was short, contributing to his overall cuteness. Shannon loved him to pieces.

Despite whatever Sasuke might say, she was bringing Kiba with to Konoha. No discussions.

Shannon frowned when she thought of Sasuke, clambering over the ruins of a smashed building. Ever since that fight with Itachi, he had been avoiding everyone, always deep in thought. Shannon was actually starting to worry that the frown lines he wore so often would permanently etch themselves into his alabaster skin.

Though she had to admit, Sakura was taking good care of him – she had resorted to force-feeding him at mealtimes, and making him sit with the others for at least an hour a day so he stayed in touch with reality. Or at least _tried_ to.

There was the sound of something scuffling over rock and sending pebbles skittering across concrete behind her, but Shannon ignored it. She wasn't scared of anything out here anymore. She continued on her merry way, Kiba trotting along at her side.

Shannon spotted a smashed shop window a few feet away. Her eyes lit up and she smiled hopefully, making her way over to the remains of the grocery store. The demonic chuckling behind her didn't even cause her to miss a step. As she ducked inside the shadowy interior, Shannon completely wrote off the sound of leathery wings slowly creaking open.

She then spotted her prize – a few tins of canned peas, some dented, scattered over the floor. Her smile widened to a grin. As she bent down to pick them up, the demon that had been so carefully concealing itself in the shadows of an old warehouse across the street launched into its attack.

Shannon didn't even bat an eyelid as her shadow tendrils shot out of their own accord. There wasn't even time for the demon to scream as it flew straight into the black pin-cushion of spears.

Shannon happily dropped the four salvageable cans into her pack and hopped back out onto the street, humming in a chirpy sort of way, with a contented smile on her face. Now at least the squad would have something to eat tonight. She continued on her merry way, completely ignoring the mutilated body that fell to the ground behind her as the shadows settled back under her skin, like it wasn't even there to begin with.

In her opinion, demons weren't even worth the effort of noticing.

It was a few moments after that when Shannon began to feel a little bit strange. A tingling sensation started in her fingers, then spread to her entire body, almost like pins and needles. She frowned, looking down at her hands. They started to flicker in and out of focus, like a picture on a TV with bad reception. She looked down at Kiba, who just cocked his head at her and whined in confusion. Shannon slowly started to realize what must be happening. She shrugged and got down on one knee, wrapping her arms around the large canine's neck.

A determined expression settled on her face. Screw Sasuke. She was damn well bringing the dog with.

And a moment later, the pair was gone.

**Moonlttiger – cliffy enough for ya? ;D**


	23. Chapter 23

**Sorry this is so late, everyone D:**

**I rewrote it like six billion times because I wanted it to be the best it can be…seeing as there are only three more chapters in this story… D'X**

**So sad :'(**

**Moonlttiger – unfortunately, all good things must come to an end (even though we wish they wouldn't)… please read the next one! I promise you'll like it :D it's going to be almost like a direct continuation of this one X3**

**And that goes for everyone else who's been such an amazing a faithful reader :D I promise the next one will be just as good (if not better) than this one! Please don't stop reading :3**

**And for any Zabuza fans out there…he makes an appearance soon ;D**

**And on with the show!**

****Chapter twenty-three****

Shannon landed on what she assumed was the ground with a loud thud. She still held Kiba tightly in her arms – the large canine was whimpering fearfully after being so very abruptly torn from its own world and thrust into the bowels of inter-dimensional travel.

Shannon's head was spinning, and her stomach lurched sickeningly as she lay prone on the ground. She felt like if she moved, she would throw up. She cracked an eye open gingerly, trying to figure out where the hell she was. Well, she sort of had an idea _where_ she was, but she didn't know her exact _location_ in said place.

Soon enough, the dizziness dissipated and Shannon slowly pushed herself up so that her upper body rested on her elbows. Kiba huddled himself closer to her, shivering. He was _not_ liking this one bit.

Shannon groaned, blinking as harsh sunlight streamed into her eyes.

"I see you made it back safely."

She started at the voice as her eyes slowly adjusted to the light. Pretty soon, the spots in her vision began to fade, and Shannon saw Sai sitting a few feet away, crossed-legged on the ground. She looked at their surroundings – they seemed to be in the middle of a forest. Tall trees cast dappled shadows around them, and Shannon could hear an assortment of birds and other animals meandering around out of sight.

"I take it this is Konoha?" she asked, pushing herself into a sitting position and rubbing her eyes. Her grip on Kiba slackened, but the canine didn't move an inch from her side.

"You'd be right," Sai nodded. For the first time since she had met him, Sai looked…at ease.

Shannon looked around. She saw nothing but tall tree trunks and shadows, and felt a tiny stab of worry. Where was her mother and Ashley? And where was Shikamaru? "And the others?"

"I'm sure they're around somewhere," another voice answered as Sasuke emerged from the line of trees to her left. "The real question is – where are the people who brought us back?"

Sasuke paused mid-stride when his onyx eyes landed on Kiba. His expression went from reflective to stony in an instant. Shannon's face adopted a similar look as his eyes met hers.

"There was no way in hell I was leaving him behind," she answered firmly, expression deadpan.

Sasuke just snorted and rolled his eyes, sitting down next to Sai as they waited for the others to appear. "There's no use in me saying anything. You would have done it anyway."

"Damn straight," Shannon muttered not quite under her breath, earning another scowl from the Uchiha.

"I think I'd agree with Shannon," Shikamaru chuckled as he pushed his way out from a couple of bushes, followed by the rest of the squad. He collapsed next to Shannon, seemingly exhausted. "Whoever did those transportation jutsus needs to work on their landing techniques," he grumbled. "What a drag…"

"That's no way to show gratitude, you lazy ass," a female voice reprimanded. "After all this time, and that's the first thing you say?"

"Nice to see you too, Ino," Shikamaru didn't even look up as his blonde team mate stepped into the small clearing.

She looked at his and the rest of the group's state of dress and quirked an eyebrow. "What the hell happened to you guys?"

"It's a long story," both he and Naruto groaned in unison.

…

A few hours later, Shannon was comfortably settled into an apartment in Konoha's bustling centre, under heavy ANBU guard, of course. Not that she minded. It was such a relief to have a stable roof over her head and a warm place to sleep at night after months of living in constant fear like a wild animal. To tell the truth, Shannon wasn't actually all that sure how to adjust to normal life again. That is, if that was what you considered 'normal'.

Her perception of the word 'normal' had been permanently altered.

Shannon re-entered her bedroom after stepping out of the shower, slipping a large t-shirt over her head. She, Ashley, Josephine, Hinata and Sakura had promptly been abducted by Ino and Tenten and taken to the local bath house, where they had been thoroughly scrubbed spotless, their hair cleaned and removed of dreadlocks and they had been made to feel halfway human again.

Even though her skin had been rubbed raw, Shannon had taken to showering every two hours. She just couldn't get that feeling of dirt literally embedding itself in her skin to go away. She never wanted to be that dirty again.

Kiba wagged his tail as she made her way over to the bed. Shannon threw her damp towel over the back of the chair at the foot of her bed and sprawled over the covers, enveloping Kiba in a loose hug. She buried her nose in his thick fur, breathing in the sharp scent of flea shampoo. He too had been given a thorough cleansing. By who, she had no idea, but Shannon knew Kiba had given them quite a rough time. No one touched him except his masters.

As Shannon lay on the bed, content with the fact that she actually _had _a bed to lie on, she reflected on her whirlwind first day in Konoha.

After she and the others had been scrubbed spotless from head to toe and had been made socially acceptable, they had been thrown into some new clothes and rushed off to the Hokage's office to report back. Shannon hadn't realized it, or even thought about it before, but they had been wandering around that desolate wasteland that had used to be her home for _five months_.

She actually got the shivers thinking about how long it had been. Now that she was back in civilization, it all seemed like a bad dream. A really, _really_ bad dream.

The Hokage – a very buxom woman by the name of Tsunade – had listened to their full report, everything from the very first time Shannon had encountered the group at the crumbling shopping centre, to the defeat of the Akatsuki. When the village leader had heard of the Akatsuki's demise, she had been visibly relieved. It was one less enemy the village had to contend with now.

Shannon rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling. She sighed. She and Shikamaru had barely had time to even see each other. Everything had just been so rushed and sudden, no one quite knew what would be flying at them next. So many things to do, so many people to brief and debrief, so many places to be…Shannon closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. She was just glad she could finally collapse and catch up on all the sleep she had been deprived of. She would make sure she saw him in the morning. Him, Ashley and her mother.

She yawned loudly and stretched, clambering to her feet to turn off the light. She slid back into bed, nestling under the covers and shifting Kiba to the other side of the mattress. The large canine snorted and turned, resting his head on Shannon's stomach.

Shannon suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable in the dark. Even though she knew that there were no Creatures around to attack her in her sleep, she was still paranoid after all those months of fearing what lurked in the blackness, waiting to catch you unawares.

Holding Kiba close, Shannon flicked on the small lamp on the table next to her bed. Only then did she deem herself comfortable enough to fall asleep. Within seconds, she was unconscious.

…

It was in the dead of night, when even the crickets and stray dogs had lay down to sleep, that four shadows slipped past the night watch at the gates and into the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

They moved without sounds, sticking close to buildings and away from open roads. They moved with ease, like they had prior knowledge of the village's many twisting streets. They were looking for one location in particular, and would not be satisfied until their target had been achieved.

Even the team of ANBU didn't notice the shadows creep up silently behind them until their throats had been slit. They didn't even have time to cry out as they slumped to the ground and were still.

The four shadows made their way over the slanted tiled rooftops until they reached one parallel with a window. That window was the entrance to the dwelling they had been looking for. That dwelling was currently housing their target. And they would not be satisfied until their target had been acquired.

A soft light emitted from the window, making the job of picking the lock that much easier. The quartet stole into the room. Their target lay sleeping in her bed, a large dog curled up at her side. One of the intruders produced a small dart gun from somewhere out of their loose black bodysuit. They couldn't have any unwanted…_interruptions_.

Not to worry, though. The gun was only loaded with sleeping darts. Powerful ones, but sleeping darts nonetheless. They couldn't afford to accidentally hit the girl with something more poisonous. They needed her alive.

Neither the dog nor the girl so much as flinched in their sleep when a pair of red-tufted darts embedded themselves into their flesh. Not that either of them would wake for a while, anyway.

One of the black-clad intruders silently gathered up the limp girl.

And as soon and as quietly as they had come, the quartet of shadows were gone, with their prisoner in tow.

**You know the deal :3**


	24. Chapter 24

**Hello and welcome :D**

**Sadly, this is the last chapter D'X **

**I feel so sad about ending this…dammit, I can't even describe how weird it feels to not be thinking about what will be happening in the next chapter -_- this story will always be the most special, since it was the first one I uploaded…I think I should stop with all the sentimental bullshit now…**

**And to all my special readers and reviewers…this story would have been nothing without you guys! Thank you so much for all the love and feedback you've given, and the time you've all taken to read this :D I really appreciate everything you've done X3**

**I've started brainstorming the sequel, so hopefully we won't have to wait long for it to be uploaded :D I say 'we' because I can be quite prone to writer's block at the most inappropriate times :/**

**But it will be up soon! Please, if you've enjoyed this story, read the next one :3 think of it as this story's illegitimate child or something like that…LOL XD but really, it's like a continuation of this, just following the story of a different set of characters :3**

**Midnightheart XxX – the time for wondering is over! :D**

****Chapter twenty-four****

It had been four weeks now. Four weeks since Shannon had vanished into thin air. Shikamaru hadn't gotten more than three hours of sleep during those four weeks, and it was starting to show. Dark rings had formed under his lackluster eyes, his movements were sluggish, and his normally unequally bright intellect was considerably dulled by fatigue.

He had been searching day after day, night after night, for any sign of where Shannon could have been taken. The only thing he knew was that she had been kidnapped by a highly organized group of criminals – that much was apparent from the fact that they had used heavily-dosed sleeping darts on Kiba and managed to kill six highly-trained ANBU without so much as a scuffle.

The others were also starting to show the signs of exhaustion. Scouting teams had been sent out by the Hokage nearly every day to scour the forest for any clues to the kidnapper's and Shannon's whereabouts. Teams had even been sent as far out as the border of the Land of Waves. But still, no sign of them.

Ashley and Josephine were emotional wrecks. After all they had been through with Shannon back in their home universe, this was worse than a physical blow to them. They had wanted to go with every scouting team to help look for Shannon, but Tsunade wouldn't have it. The last thing she needed was something to happen to the two civilians.

She had actually had to resort to physically restraining the two when search teams went out on patrol. Ashley and Josephine tended to get quite…_violent_ when it came to Shannon's well-being.

Shikamaru sighed loudly and ran a hand over his face, trying to rid himself of the constant tiredness that plagued his mind. He slumped back on his couch. He had been ordered to go home and get some rest by the head of one of the ANBU search teams, but he didn't see how he could when Shannon was still somewhere out there, in the clutches of some unknown evil probably doing unspeakable things to her.

His blood started to boil at the thought of the danger she might be in. Shikamaru forced himself to his feet, determined to go out with the next patrol and search for her again. He wouldn't rest until he found her and had her back in his arms again. His legs shook unsteadily and his knees buckled, sending Shikamaru crashing to the floor. The fatigue was getting too much – he could barely move.

A defeated sob managed to work its way out of his sore throat. He hung his head, tears gathering in his eyes. His shoulders shook.

They had to find her. Soon. He wasn't sure if he could hold on much longer.

…

Four weeks. Shannon had been cramped and chained up in this pitch-black cell for _four weeks_. She was pissed. More than pissed. She was _furious_. She knew that her captors were keeping her in the dark on purpose. They _knew_ how uncomfortable it made her. She knew they had had an informant in Konoha. That's how they had known when she and the others had arrived back. That's how they knew of her fear of the dark. They had told her that much. They were trying to break her; make her give in so they could use her and her powers for their own sinister intentions.

But she wouldn't give in, not to the likes of _them._

After four weeks kept in the dark, with only brief breaks of light when she was taken out of her room to be questioned, she had managed to eradicate her fear of the dark. The blackness didn't faze her anymore. If anything, it comforted her. The darkness meant she didn't have to see the faces of her tormentors.

She suppressed a shiver of rage when she thought about the people holding her hostage. They called themselves the _Demons of Fire._ Shannon snorted in disdain. What did they know of demons?

These thugs were boy-scouts compared to _demons_.

After the first week of being kept here against her will, and trying to keep her bad side in check, Shannon had finally given in and had let her alter-ego take over.

That's why the dark didn't faze her anymore. She knew there was nothing in it to be scared of.

But they used other tactics to get to her. They tried to break her down psychologically. When she had first let her alter-ego take over, Shannon had lashed out and killed about four of their members before they could restrain her.

They tried to make her feel remorse for what she had done; tried to make her let the guilt of taking those lives eat her alive until there was nothing left and they could mold her mind as they saw fit. Shannon just tuned their pathetic voices out of her head, listening to her own conviction instead.

_Remorse for what? You people have done everything in the world to me._

_You spit in my face, smack me in the mouth and throw me in solitary confinement for nothing. What do you think's going to happen when I get out of here?_

And she _would_ get out of here. Mark her words, she would. And today was the day.

Shannon heard the heavy thud of footsteps coming down the corridor outside of her cell, getting louder with every footfall. She guessed it was time for her routine questioning. She smirked in the dark. Perfect.

She heard a key turning in the lock. Her eyes snapped open. They shone a deep blood red, literally glowing in the darkness. The door was thrown open, and a rectangle of bright light was thrown over Shannon's form as she sat sprawled on the floor of her cell. Her hands were chained to a hook above her head, limiting her movement as she leaned back against the dirty cement wall. Her hair was once again dirty and matted, and the semblance of a prison uniform they had forced her into was ragged and torn from her numerous beatings.

Though, as much as they tried, they couldn't stop her shadows once she decided to let them loose. Bloodstains covered the tattered brown material, most of them not her own.

Shannon blinked rapidly, trying to get her eyes to adjust to the bright light of the whitewashed corridor outside. A single shadow stood silhouetted against the stark whiteness, a pair of handcuffs dangling from his grip.

"Ready for more punishment, maggot?" he sneered as he hauled her to her feet.

Shannon didn't even dignify the Fire member with an answer as he unchained her wrists from the wall and savagely slapped the handcuffs on in their place. She was roughly shoved out into the corridor and pushed in front of the man as he propelled her towards the interrogation room. Shannon was well acquainted with the route to the room – she had been there enough times to find her way there and back in her sleep.

The corridors of the facility were whitewashed and slippery, a stark cleanliness that contrasted sharply with the state of her own cell. Not that she cared much. She would be leaving this place soon enough. It had taken her these past four weeks to figure out a perfect escape plan, and now she was ready to use it.

Without a word, the man pulled her to a stop outside a different interrogation room. He opened the solid steel door and pushed her inside, slamming the door shut again. Shannon stumbled slightly, but regained her footing, shooting a venomous glare at the door behind her.

She turned her attention to the room she was in. She had never been brought to this one before. It was just as white and clean as the other, but the difference this time was that there was someone else in the room. _That_ she had never experience before.

The other prisoner was also bound in handcuffs, standing against the wall opposite the door. He had short brown hair, and a Mist headband slung diagonally over his forehead. Dirty white wrappings covered the lower half of his face, and he watched her with suspicious brown eyes. Shannon noted that he too seemed to have been beaten by the Fire, much like herself. He had a black eye and what looked like a nasty cut on his left cheek.

Shannon, with some surprise, recognized him as the infamous Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the Mist. What he was doing here, she had no clue. Maybe they Demons of Fire didn't like competition, she thought with a dark chuckle.

"What's so funny, kid?" he growled, narrowing his eyes.

"Oh, nothing," Shannon replied, sniggering as she shook her head. "Just a funny thought I had."

"You shouldn't be laughing at a time like this," Zabuza scoffed. "You do know what they're gonna do to us, don't you?"

Shannon smirked at him. "Oh, I do. But I don't intend to stick around for it."

"And how do you intend getting out of here?" Zabuza asked incredulously, astounded by her confidence. "These are chakra blocking cuffs, remember?"

Shannon let out a laugh so dark that even Zabuza got the chills. She cast a demonic look at the door, smirking wildly. "These retards forget that I don't use _chakra_."

Before the speechless Mist shinobi could query her lack of chakra, Shannon produced a shadow tendril from her wrist and neatly sliced through the metal cuffs. They clattered to the floor and Shannon rubbed her chafed wrists, wincing slightly. They may not have affected her shadow abilities, but they still hurt like a bitch.

Shannon raised her eyes from her hands to meet Zabuza's inquiring gaze. She snorted, not in the mood for explaining anything to him. She regarded him silently for a moment before making her way towards him. She saw his shoulders tense apprehensively, and she laughed.

"You look pretty interesting," she scoffed. "Might as well take you along for the ride."

Shannon stopped several feet away from the wary missing nin. His shoulders relaxed slightly when he saw she wasn't making any further advances, but his guard was up again just as quickly when a shadow tendril shot out from Shannon's hands and neatly sliced his handcuffs off in a single shot.

Shannon smirked at his shocked expression and turned to face the door. She knew each of the interrogation rooms were under surveillance and Fire members would be flooding the room any minute to subdue them. She flexed her fingers in anticipation. She had been itching to hand these assholes their asses for a long time.

"You might want to get ready to bust some heads," she said over her shoulder to her companion as she heard rapid footsteps outside.

The door was suddenly bust open and a whole troop of men surged into the room, not looking too impressed with Shannon's earlier stunt. She smirked, rolling her shoulders. She had been waiting for this. Her plan was coming together rather nicely.

The first man came at her from the side, but she blocked his punch and swiftly countered with one of her own, sending him spinning back into his team mates. Two more aimed simultaneous blows at her head and stomach. She sidestepped both of them and dropped low, swinging her foot out in a roundhouse kick parallel with the floor. Both her attackers, plus some other suckers who had been unlucky enough to be on the receiving end of her attack, tumbled to the ground. Before any of them could move, she snapped three of their necks with harsh kicks to the head.

Behind her, Shannon could hear Zabuza taking on a few men himself, and she smiled. It was paying off having another person to help take these idiots down.

While she was distracted, someone took the opportunity to knock a swift uppercut to her temple, sending Shannon spinning into a wall. Before she could even move, the man had her pinned. He twisted her left arm painfully up her back, threatening to dislocate her shoulder.

"D'you _enjoy_ murdering people, you sick little bitch?" he hissed into her ear, smacking her head forcefully into the whitewashed wall. Shannon growled, gritting her teeth. This asshole was really starting to get on her nerves. "Huh? Do ya? How many have you murdered now?"

Shannon's snarl morphed into another sadistic smirk as she replied in a deadly sweet voice.

"Believe me - if I started murdering people, there'd be none of you left."

Before the Fire member cold reply, Shannon's shadows burst forth from her back, skewering him through the midsection. Her smirk widened when she heard his last gurgling breath wrenched from his throat. But her shadows didn't stop. They continued on their destructive path, impaling everyone in their way. The rest of the sadistic bastards in the room, the dumb idiots who thought they could run in the corridors…everyone they could find.

In a matter of seconds, the screaming was finished.

Shannon retracted her shadows. The man that had pinned her to the wall fell to the ground, lifeless. She stretched her sore shoulder, pushing herself off the wall. Shannon looked around the once clean room. It was now bathed in bright red blood and littered with the bodies of the people who had dared rip her away from her family and comrades back in Konoha.

Her eyes eventually found Zabuza, standing motionless in the corner of the room. Shannon laughed at the expression on his face. He looked so shocked it was funny. Like he hadn't done his fair share of killing in the past. She supposed he just wasn't used to the…_brutality_ of her methods.

Shannon cleared her throat, bringing Zabuza back to the proverbial world of the living.

"Come on," she motioned to the open doorway, stepping over a few mangled corpses as she made her way out of the room. "There's no use in staying here."

Zabuza followed. Shannon could feel his probing gaze on her back as she picked her way over the bodies in the corridor.

"How the hell did you do that?" he queried after a few moments. "I've never seen a jutsu like that before."

"That's because it's not a jutsu," Shannon chuckled. "It's more like a…kekkei genkai, but without chakra."

"A kekkei genkai, huh?" Zabuza mused thoughtfully.

Shannon looked over her shoulder at him as they approached the exit to the facility. They smirked at each other.

"Hey kid, I could use someone like you."

Shannon snorted as they reached the door. "I've got other duties, sorry to break it to you." She paused. "But you could always come with me to Konoha. I'm sure you'd be able to find someone there to help you out."

"I might just take you up on that," the missing nin replied with a smirk as he followed the younger girl out into the daylight.

The two of them disappeared into the thick line of trees, making their way back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. For Shannon, it was like going home again.

She would be seeing her mother and Ashley soon, and Lee and the others would be there too. And she would finally be able to be with Shikamaru again. It had been torture to be apart from him for so long.

Shannon smiled genuinely for the first time in a month. Yup, it was definitely like going home again.

**Once again, thanks so much to everyone who took the time to make this story a part of their lives :) it means a lot to me :3**

**Until next time! **

**Believe in Fairy Tales**


	25. Chapter 25

**Hey guys :)**

**Sorry I've been MIA for so long, got caught up with a few other things ^^'**

**I have some ideas for the sequel to this story, but I'm a bit stuck as to which path to go with. Please help me choose!**

**Option 1 –**

After suffering horrendous torture at the hands of Konoha's enemies, Kana is slowly going blind after they conduct horrible tests on her eyes. But, determined to continue living life as a proud Leaf shinobi, she approaches her good friend Shannon for help. Shannon has only one solution she can think of, and points Kana in the direction of the infamous Zabuza Momochi, who can help her train to overcome her disability and become even stronger. That is, if he doesn't kill her first.

**Option 2 –**

Kana is sick and tired of being mistreated by the village she has so faithfully served all her life. Returning from a mission, badly wounded, she is completely disregarded by the Hokage – her sister. Kana knows Tsunade has always been disappointed with her for some reason. She decides to leave Konoha, and joins forces with Zabuza after seeking sanctuary from Shannon. Kana decides to abandon her former life as an ANBU captain and, for once, follow her own path for the life she wants.

**Would really appreciate the help!**

**Thanks again, wonderful people ^^**


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